MLFMP2: Son of Kael'thas
by pooktales
Summary: Can Kael’thas find a way to be a daddy and a villain? When Prince Belorim Sunstrider, a threeyearold, arrives at Tempest Keep his father learns that he’s inherited a royal mess whether he wanted to or not. The Burning Legion, Illidan, and the Knights of
1. Prologue

**MLFMP 2: Son of Kael'thas**

(Disclaimer: This story is based upon a game called World of Warcraft. Therefore, I do not claim any rights to their story, or game.)

Welcome. You've walked into the middle of the My Life for My Prince series. These fanfictions are meant to be an imaginary tale of the redemption of Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider. I recommend that you read the first part, entitled My Life for My Prince before this one, because you may become lost. I will try my best to catch you up on various things as we go, but consider this fair warning that if you start reading and it seems to you that certain characters are underdeveloped, or that there are confusing plot lines, it's because you are essentially seeing only half of the story. It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that given the complexity of MLFMP, it would be too much extra work for this hobby of mine (I did summarize entire plots in the Romancer series, but that was a simpler story, you see).

Of course it is a free country/world, and MLFMP is really super-long, so you're going to do what you like anyway. smiles And, I also assume that you will pop over to MLFMP and read a chapter or two, if you do get stuck.

Well, however you've arrived at the second story in this series, thank you, and enjoy what has been and continues to be a fun write for me and a fun read for lots of other people.

**Premise:**

When Prince Belorim Sunstrider, a three-year-old, arrives at Tempest Keep, his father learns that he's inherited a royal mess whether he wanted to or not. As if his enslavement to Illidan Stormrage weren't enough, a shifty secret order of Bloodknights and a tempting offer from the Burning Legion are at last forcing Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider to choose either Quel'thalas or Outland. Unless… Kael'thas can find a way to be a daddy _and_ a villain?

**Prologue:**

It took three years for Lady Liadrin to confirm her secret theories regarding the Whiteblade, as all of Quel'thalas now called it. She believed that the son of Kael'thas Sunstrider was trapped inside of his deceased mother's sword.

That long ago, Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider returned from Outland and drove the beautiful sword into the rock foundation of his ancestor Dath'remar's shrine. But it had not been the Prince's intention to desecrate the memorial of the first King of the Blood Elves. People still whispered that Kael'thas had come all that way just to bury the woman he once loved, a slain Bloodknight named Saturna Whiteblade. No one knew exactly how she died in Outland or how Saturna and Kael'thas even met, since her tombstone said so little. But it was impossible to mistake the kind of love the Prince of Quel'thalas had for the woman. You see, when Kael'thas tried but could not gain access to the Sunstrider family crypt beneath the shrine of Dath'remar, he angrily ruined its rock foundation with fire spells to get at the gravesite however he could. In that way, the woman was laid to rest near the bodies of his ancestors if not right beside them miles beneath the earth. To be buried with a thousands-of-years-old dynasty of Sunstrider kings and queens, there was no greater honor in Quel'thalas. But Lady Liadrin guessed it wasn't just an honor. Maybe it meant that Saturna Whiteblade had somehow become part of the family…

The enchanted white sword glowed with a thick haze of curious Light magic that no one understood. People kept coming back to see the Whiteblade for years after Kael'thas was forced to flee the site by the Lord of Outland Illidan Stormrage himself. The eyewitnesses to this encounter spoke about the horror of the revelation, that their Prince was merely a slave to the Demon Lord of Outland. Many who had not seen their Prince suffer at the hands of the Betrayer, only the beautiful sword Kael'thas left behind, insisted that the Whiteblade was a sign Prince Kael'thas would return one day. Kael'thas left it on purpose, to give them hope, these people said. The way they all lived suppressed under Grand Magister Rommath's harsh rule, most Blood Elves were afraid to believe anything else. Unfortunately, many of the first-hand, pessimistic witnesses to the return of Kael'thas were silenced by Rommath. No one could think ill of Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider and survive for very long in the reformed Silvermoon City to spread those sorts of ideas.

But Bloodknight Matriarch Lady Liadrin felt she knew Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider and Saturna Whiteblade better than anyone else in the kingdom. Among many other scholarly theories Liadrin had regarding the nature of Light magic and its effects on the late Commander Whiteblade's sword, there was one superior proof as to the Whiteblade's true meaning for the Blood Elf people. This was an inviolable destiny set forth despite the pitfalls of their tragic history. It was born of the very desperate ends to which some fanatical Blood Elves resorted as a consequence. For, what was more desperate than zealous self-inflicted delusion? Or, more hazardous to their country's progress over many thousands of years than unworthy celebrity?

That is to say, because Lady Liadrin knew for a fact that the Bloodknight Saturna Whiteblade had been a hopeless Kael'thas fangirl in life, it was fairly obvious that the woman got herself entangled in some epically outrageous romantic misadventure with the Prince before she died.

Following that train of thought, one could safely assume that Saturna Whiteblade had been slain as a consequence of her delusional fangirl tendencies… but by whom, and to achieve what nefarious ends? And then, of course, the secondary important evidence as to the existence of Kael'thas' unborn baby son was his mother's dormant Whiteblade spell. It lived on in the sword though the one who cast it in the first place died long ago. You see, a part of the mother clearly lived on in her weapon…

And so, under the dictatorial rule of Grand Magister Rommath, the Bloodknight Matriarch herself was harboring a dangerous secret: Kael'thas had a son. If the boy—called Belorim on his mother's tombstone—could ever be safely extracted, there would be a new Prince of Quel'thalas. With his father selfishly absconded to Outland and having made so many enemies on that alien battlefield, a new Sunstrider who'd inherited a thousands-of-years-old unchallenged right to the throne—and better yet, was completely beholden to the counsel of others who could guide the son of Kael'thas like a weapon—could unseat Grand Magister Rommath and change everything. Lady Liadrin considered herself a champion of the people and so, of course, she realized the son of Kael'thas could be used to achieve a great deal of good. But to divide father and son forever, especially in the face of such tragedy? After three years of searching for answers and sacrificing for the truth, Bloodknight Matriarch Lady Liadrin decided that no matter what anyone else thought, she was prepared to do a little evil, for Kael'thas…

And so this morning, with the help of Lord Ranger-General Halduron Brightwing, whom she'd blackmailed, Rangers marched all of Rommath's Magisters out of Silvermoon City. The Thalassian military force knocked arrows to bows and pointed them at anyone who dared intervene. Among their protective ranks were Liadrin's own Bloodknights who pressed sharpened blood-tempered ranseurs to the throats of the Magisters, lest they try to flee The large procession marched out of the city, right under the nose of Grand Magister Rommath to the grave of Saturna Whiteblade on Sunstrider Isle.

Now, Bloodknight Matriarch Lady Liadrin stood beside Lord Ranger-General Halduron Brightwing, watching her dark designs manifest themselves at last. A ring of superior marksmen in green mail armor stood around the desecrated shrine of Dath'remar, bows cocked and facing out at anyone who dared challenge this coup against Rommath. It amused Liadrin to see that there was little resistance. A second inner ring of Bloodknights in black plate held fifty-five Magisters hostage—it had taken all the Magisters within the city—until they finished freeing the sword from the stone. Threads of their blue conjuring leapt through the air at once and flowed up and down the fiery white surface of the blade before sparking and trickling earthward, onto the jagged rocks that covered over Saturna's years-old casket.

All this to undo what one Sunstrider had conjured three years ago with half a thought.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Halduron." Lady Liadrin whispered and folded her arms across her chest. Her silver armor reacted a little too cheerfully to the sunrise and the pretty work of the Magisters for her taste, so the intense Bloodknight Matriarch took a large step west. Now she stood in the long shadow of the desecrated shrine.

Halduron was much younger than Lady Liadrin and wouldn't let her forget it. "Sleeping pills… sleeping pills? Did I really agree to drug the Grand Magister of Silvermoon City? And that's such a common trick, from the pre-Scourge era… Do you _know_ just how easily Rommath is going to see right through your old courtly tactics? And then how _fast_ he is going to have all my Rangers lined up and shot!"

"Oh, calm down, Halduron. It was the best I could do on short notice, you know why I'm being rushed right now." She eyed him, and he became quiet. "Besides, Rommath will only remember the card game and the good spiked liquor you he and Lorth'remar shared last night… _after_ he wakes up late this afternoon. And who's putting whom in front of a firing squad? Don't your Rangers normally fire the arrows on revolutionaries? They can't knock bows to each other, they won't. Just like my Bloodknights are not going to imprison your men for helping me, nor are they going to bully and police each other for breaking the law. I will not have them police anyone anymore if this works and we are free of Rommath's rule. Rommath put both the Rangers and the Bloodknights up to making life a nightmare for the citizens of Quel'thalas, but this morning he is simply going to suffer from the fruits of his careful labors, just like everyone else. I _will_ make short work of his dictatorship." She cocked an eyebrow.

Halduron rocked nervously on his heels. He still didn't like it. "And you say… you're sure this is the right thing to do? We're risking Kael'thas being furious with us as well, you know."

Lady Liadrin glared at the man a long time before answering in a harsh whisper, "How many times do I have to tell you, Lord Ranger-General? Years of research have confirmed that the son of Kael'thas is in that sword!" That much was still a precious secret and Lady Liadrin had not shared it with anyone except for Halduron and the woman who'd agreed to help retrieve Belorim Sunstrider from the sword at the last minute. "Kael'thas will _not_ be angry when we save his son's life. How could he be?"

"But what if Kael'thas left him there in the first place—"

"I told you, he doesn't KNOW! Kael'thas would never do something like that. And I know him well, he is _not_ a monster, Halduron!"

Rangers just behind them flinched at Lady Liadrin raising her voice. She cleared her throat and turned attention back to the task at hand. There was no point in arguing further with Halduron. The man also had singular access to recent intelligence from Outland. There were rumors—and had been for years—that Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider was actually an enemy to the cause of right. Lady Liadrin had her own spies that tiptoed around Rommath and his well-kept secrets, and no doubt Regent Lord of Quel'thalas Lor'themar Theron did as well. The three of them were the sorts of people who needed access to important knowledge if they wanted to remain in power—what little of it Rommath allowed them—in Silvermoon City. As a result, Halduron, Lorth'remar, and Lady Liadrin all knew that Kael'thas was considered a villain, and there were even whispers that he was working for the Burning Legion, not just Lord Illidan Stormrage whom many referred to as The Betrayer. Halduron obviously believed the worse about their Prince.

Lady Liadrin looked away from him and said, "But you haven't really given up hope, have you, Halduron? Or else you wouldn't be helping me do this today."

"You didn't give me any other choice, Lady Liadrin. Don't speak to me as if this were some mission of mercy. If I had my way, the lesser of two evils in this country would be eliminated over this, to make work for the Rangers easier. I'd tell Rommath everything and he'd put you and your selfish, irreverent Bloodknights in shackles so fast—"

"Forget Anveena." Liadrin swiftly cut him off. "I am talking about Kael'thas. If you thought he was any danger to us, to Quel'thalas, you would have found some way to get at me, despite what's going on over at Sunwell Isle… I refuse to believe what Rommath and Lorth'remar say about you behind your back, that you are weak-willed. You want to do this."

"I am _not_ weak willed… are they really saying that? That's awful!"

She sighed. "Please, Halduron… stop talking. And, by the way, if you have any more objections to my plan then I encourage you to take them up with your Anveena. Afterall, she is the one who deftly confirmed all of my speculation in the first place. Who knew that the living Sunwell herself would be so obliging…"

Halduron flinched then and promised to keep his mouth shut for her, if Lady Liadrin continued to keep his secret.

You see, Lady Liadrin had not even known about Anveena until recently. That, at last, was the leverage she needed to force Halduron and his Rangers to take the side of her Bloodknights.

Anveena was Halduron's big secret where Quel'thalas was concerned. It was a secret just as dangerous, if not more precious than that of the Whiteblade. That was exactly why Lady Liadrin had found about Anveena in the first place. A year ago, Lady Liadrin—confident in her theory that Kael'thas' son lived within the Whiteblade—was looking for someone to help her safely extract the boy from the sword. The Bloodknight Matriarch was willing to sacrifice everything for the precious future of her people, but she was no fool. If she ever found someone who could help her, they would have to be exceptionally powerful and their services capable of being bought. But the price for something like this would be extremely high, perhaps even too much. And Lady Liadrin had limited resources to begin with, since in many ways, she and her Bloodknights were only pawns of Rommath. And so, Liadrin grimly decided that she was going to have to threaten someone to make this work. No one was going to help the head of a wayward and oft-considered blasphemous sect of Thalassian paladins out of the kindness of their hearts… or so she thought.

Lady Liadrin knew from her experience as a Lady of the old Thalassian Court that where there were secrets of comparable value, there was potential for exchange. So she started looking for people to blackmail at the top. Rommath had dedicated Magisters who were starting to engage in what one could only really call cultist activities, but blackmailing the dictator himself over mere suspicions of strange behavior? Nigh impossible. Lor'themar's extramarital affairs were interesting… but that was sort of common knowledge in the first place, the way he went about it. Other lords and ladies in the city had your run of the mill antebellum financial troubles, drinking problems, addictions to various kinds of magics and substances after the loss of the Sunwell, etcetera… but none of those juicy secrets were worth trading for the life of Prince Kael'thas' son. She knew not a soul in the other factions of the Horde that she could trust either, since the Blood Elves had only joined with them a few years before.

In the end, it was her intimate knowledge regarding Light magic and a rare chance overheard conversation that finally gave Lady Liadrin the edge she needed. Once, while in the royal palace, she observed Lord Ranger-General Halduron Brightwing having a very strange conversation in the shadows: A man who was not truly a man… Lady Liadrin did not know how else to explain it, spoke with Halduron regarding 'non-linear barriers to the isle that were fading.' Only the Light was a non-linear magic, she knew. Also, there were only two islands nearby Silvermoon: Sunstrider Isle, which had no magical barriers, and the Sunwell Isle, that after the war, was being carefully guarded. No one, except for the Lord-Ranger General was allowed to go there. And it _was_ always odd that he visited what was supposed to be a bereft, wasteland destroyed by the Scourge… so very frequently.

It occurred to Lady Liadrin that a barrier made of the Light, which was a magic based on the essence of life itself, could not possibly fail. Someone very powerful would have to fiddle with such defenses from within. And it would take something or someone extremely adept at using magic to be able to manipulate a barrier that encased an entire island. Halduron did have visit Sunwell Isle regularly because of the magical defenses, at least that's what he told everyone… but when Lady Liadrin considered all these clues and the strange conversation together, it only made sense that Halduron wasn't visiting the Sunwell every fortnight or so because of the barriers, since those weren't capable of failing. There had to be something or someone living on Sunwell Isle that needed his constant care. And from the way Halduron's face looked when the other man who was not exactly a Blood Elf said, 'Anveena', Lady Liadrin was sure that this Anveena person was a woman Halduron cared deeply for. Was Anveena his lover or something?

Lady Liadrin hadn't known then, of course, just how far from the truth that assumption was…

It was that very same overconfidence in her assumptions that drove Lady Liadrin to do something foolish, rash, and deadly. But she'd already waited almost three years for answers and solutions at that point and she was beginning to get desperate. Liadrin decided to go to Sunwell Isle immediately and see this Anveena person, who was being guarded by a barrier of Light and the Lord Ranger-General of Silvermoon for herself.

She rowed a small boat off the north coast of Sunstrider Isle that very night. About an hour later, the shimmering gold dome barrier around the series of islands came into view on the horizon. So beautiful… and she had imagined that the Whiteblade was the most glorious magically enchanted thing she had ever seen. Before anyone could see her approach, because she imagined that people guarding the place might expect something like that, Liadrin removed her plate armor and slipped into the cold sea to swim the remaining distance in slacks and a shirt. She wasn't afraid to go unarmed because didn't expect to penetrate the barrier, only use her remaining priest spells to get inside the head of some hapless creature and guide it, like a spy, to confirm the existence of Anveena. Perhaps with enough of a physical description, Lady Liadrin believed she could convince Halduron that she knew everything about his secret lover, this sorceress. Then she would tell him that if he didn't get this Anveena to help her with the Whiteblade, she would tell the world of Anveena's existence.

But as Lady Liadrin sent her powers through the sparkling golden veil, Anveena reached back and pulled her inside.

"Who are you?" Anveena demanded.

Lady Liadrin found herself sitting on the other side of a breakfast table. Anveena, a young Human woman, was actually eating breakfast at this hour. Her voice was calm, but somehow it also threatened.

"I am Lady Liadrin."

"I knew that already." Anveena told her, the bright girlish features bordering on unpleasant. "In the same way that you knew me as soon as I touched you with my power and brought you through the barrier." She sipped from a cup of tea, then set it down on a white porcelain saucer. "Now, please answer the question: Who are you?"

Lady Liadrin gave up on trusting her senses. This was a very young woman who must have been nothing short of magic incarnate, to transport her in this way. And she was having breakfast in the middle of the night? Lady Liadrin looked up and saw a cheerful morning sky where the ceiling should be. None of this made any sense at all. Instead, she decided to rely on her feelings. Liadrin felt safe, for the moment. This creature could hurt her, but had chosen not to.

"Who was that man… who wasn't exactly a Blood Elf, that I saw speaking to Halduron?"

Anveena smiled. She could achieve such adorable gentleness when it was appropriate. "That was Kalec. He is a very good friend." But from she blushed, it was far more than that. "But you are only saying more irrelevant things now, because you already know that Kalec was truly a dragon in disguise. You are a scholar of Light magic, are you not? You understand that Dragons can puppet all forms of life at whim. Do not try my patience."

Lady Liadrin tried again. "I sense that… you want to know what I am about, why I'm here?"

Anveena folded her hands in her lap and nodded.

"I am here to ask for your help. There is a sword—"

"I know about the son of Kael'thas Sunstrider."

Lady Liadrin blinked. "You…"

"He is the same as I. We chat sometimes. The both of us are contained in these vessels." She tugged at the front of her simple dress, but Lady Liadrin got the feeling Anveena was referring to her very flesh. Anveena looked sad then. "He is so very young, and lonely."

"I want to take him to his father."

"Why?" Anveena immediately became defensive of her friend. And Lady Liadrin imagined herself Belorim's sole protector. A blessed child, indeed.

"Because Kael'thas is lost to us now. He needs to come home, for the Blood Elf people."

Anveena closed her eyes, thinking about this. "His life is his own. His mistakes are the results of his endemic flaws. If he so chooses to abandon his people, to indulge in villainy, then he does not deserve his son."

"Then you are condemning his son to a life of imprisonment!"

"Perhaps it is just, if uncomfortable. I am imprisoned as well. It is not for me to decide when I can be whole again, the Sunwell restored. Certain reagents are needed… and the people who own this land must prove worthy."

Lady Liadrin shook her head that she didn't understand.

Anveena leaned a little across the table. "I am the Sunwell."

A reverent silence.

Lady Liadrin wringed her hands. "Dear… by the Sun. That is nothing short of a miracle! No wonder Halduron…" she composed herself. "I understand you perfectly."

Anveena watched the other woman carefully. "You could have said to me, 'I want Belorim so that I can put him on the throne.' Why do you instead want to take him to his father?"

She looked up. A tiny rainbow had dashed across the miniature morning sky Anveena conjured into the porch ceiling and the happy unnatural event had the opposite sort of effect on Lady Liadrin. She shivered. "No, I don't want that for… for Belorim. I want his father to meet him. I don't think that, after being faced with the miracle of his own son, Kael'thas will deny the throne any longer. He will come home."

"Kael'thas may become enraged with you for showing his son his evil works in Outland, for traversing across that alien battlefield with Belorim and exposing him to untold dangers just to make a kingdom perfect. Halduron and the others run Quel'thalas very well already."

Lady Liadrin stood. "Is that what that blowhard told you? Halduron is a fool, he—" she let that ago when Anveena began to look offended. "But it isn't right… it isn't whole! A Sunstrider should rule… thousands of years of perfect leadership… Why should that legacy be sacrificed because one man is still reeling from grief out there, alone? It's a tragedy, Anveena."

"In my opinion, that is all it is, a tragedy. Not worth blackmailing Halduron over. Not worth endangering myself. Please, sit back down."

Lady Liadrin did as she was told.

"Your loyalty to Kael'thas, after everything moves me. I know few things about him… I don't live with very many people, but none of them are willing to say much more about who he is. I am lonely, though we disagree… would you mind staying a bit longer, and chatting with me?" Anveena became suddenly embarrassed after that slipped out. She tried to put in another way, "I am not wrong about many things… but perhaps for the sake of Belorim, my friend, please try and convince me that I am wrong to turn you away."

_Belorim. Certainly the child of Saturna Whiteblade, named for the Light itself._ Lady Liadrin thought. "You… are going to tell Belorim what I am going to tell you, aren't you?"

Anveena didn't blink. "Yes. I am capable of telling him word for word, so that there is no bias."

"He can hear us then?"

"Something like that." She shrugged. "But in the end, I will decide. I love him most."

Lady Liadrin nodded, and told her Prince Kael'thas' life story. Lady Liadrin was older than Kael'thas by twenty years or so and had heard a great deal about him. But it was more than just hearsay. Lady Liadrin could relay family stories, things she had seen and felt because she lived in the royal palace for a time and met Kael'thas back when he was a teenager.

When Liadrin reached the part about Kael'thas' falling out with his father all that time ago, Anveena laughed. It was a funny story afterall, the Prince's flight to Dalaran was borne in the classic pubescent nightmares of a teenager: embarrassment in front of his peers, an incident with a woman who was not supposed to be in his room, and scores of crazed fangirls that threatened to ruin the awkward Prince's innocence. At least, that was how King Anasterian told it. Lady Liadrin had been his confessor. Keeping those family secrets seemed immaterial now, with so much at stake.

Anveena raised a hand for her to pause. "You were close to Anasterian, his father."

Lady Liadrin firmly corrected, "Against my will, yes." To Anveena's curious look, she amended, "Not that I am disloyal to the royal family in any way… It's because Sunstriders are so charming you see, even if you disagree with them… but that doesn't matter anymore."

Anveena raised both her eyebrows. "Does that mean Anasterian was a dragon as well?"

It was a truly innocent question. Liadrin thought of Anveena's 'special friend' Kalec and laughed. "No, King Anasterian was not a dragon. He was clever and handsome, savage with his enemies… but just a mortal man."

Next was Kael'thas' flight to Dalaran that King Anasterian was actually relieved for. He hoped his son would come out of his shell a bit more.

"Kael'thas was a very compassionate person, and loving. His father was afraid that people at Court would eat him alive. He needed to be someplace where he could become a man on his own, without their selfish influences."

Then, she told Anveena about Jaina Proudmoore, and how delighted Anasterian was over that. Even if she was a Human woman, Kael'thas was pursuing her in the proper sort of way, like a gentleman. Not like that Prince Arthas… After that, Lady Liadrin had gone through her own spiritual crisis, became disillusioned with the Light and stopped being a priestess. Up until Jaina Proudmoore was all the intimate knowledge she had regarding Kael'thas' life.

"Lady Jaina Proudmore rejected him, Silvermoon fell to the Scourge, his father murdered by his son's rival Prince Arthas, and Kael'thas came back a man." Lady Liadrin became confident again. "Kael'thas rallied us together under a new banner, as Blood Elves. He arranged for repairs to be made to the city, so that we were nourished physically by our surroundings and spiritually by their renovated beauty. I started to believe again when he made that famous speech, and so many of us… including Saturna Whiteblade who was but a girl at the time, she was Belorim's mother… That speech changed her life. Then, Kael'thas went off to fight in the war against the Scourge with the Alliance. After already losing so much, they most certainly agitated Kael'thas further when they betrayed him. The story goes that Lady Vashj and her Naga freed Kael'thas and the soldiers he took, who later became the Sunfury. Then he met Illidan and it seems… his descent started there."

"Perhaps before then? Naga are evil creatures. He was a fool to trust them in the first place."

Lady Liadrin raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you are right. And it certainly was his choice to make." She paused. "Years after, Kael'thas sent a Naaru he captured from Tempest Keep. A Magister named Astalorn was ordered by Rommath to make good use of the Prince's gift. Astalorn asked me to help him use that source of Light magic to train the first Bloodknights. After that miracle and all the other amazing things Kael'thas sent back to the city with Rommath, we all were hopeful, Anveena. We expected Kael'thas to return soon as well with more victories and spoils from the Outland… Rommath worked us up so that we were fever-pitch waiting for it. But Kael'thas never did come home. None of us knew, unless Rommath has been lying to all of Quel'thalas over the years, what kind of trouble Kael'thas was in, until—"

"What kind of trouble he caused, you mean."

Lady Liadrin nodded. "Yes. It's obvious now that he has given into his anger. All that love and compassion has been twisted into something else. I've spoken to many eyewitnesses who were there the day that Kael'thas brought Saturna's coffin, the Whiteblade—and unbeknownst to Kael'thas, Belorim within that—to Sunstrider Isle. They say Kael'thas went mad in front of the people, cried out in agony… he yelled at Illidan Stormrage, The Betrayer in his head. Everyone knew then, that Kael'thas had gone down the wrong path. After, Kael'thas summoned a portal and fled, with three of my best Bloodknights. I can only assume that Kael'thas is in Tempest Keep now, with them. Doing what, I know not."

Anveena pushed her cold tea away. "A terrible fall from grace."

"Anveena… Belorim has a right to a life with his father. I hope that Kael'thas will meet his son and realize that he's finally gone too far, and come home. But even if he doesn't… after losing Saturna, who was my friend, the companionship of the Alliance he loved, his kingdom, his father, the Sunwell… so very much… I can't live with myself unless I bring him this one miracle. Perhaps the one beautiful thing in his life."

"He may not see it that way."

"I do not wish for Belorim to come to any harm. If I find Kael'thas unworthy of his son, I will bring him directly back here, and I will raise him myself. I've thought about this for a long time."

"No, _I_ will." Anveena insisted. "It is safest here, if Silvermoon City is as dangerous as you say, the way Rommath is actually running things."

Lady Liadrin conceded this. Now they were negotiating the terms of the child's freedom.

Anveena looked down from the porch where they were sitting, over the moonlit garden around the veranda. "When I first reached through this Light barrier around the island meant to protect me… ironically, I did it to end my loneliness, I found Belorim. We speak in a unique way, magic to magic… My initial impulse was also to reunite father and son. But the ones I live with here, who have become my family, felt it was too dangerous, insisted that Kael'thas was a monster."

Lady Liadrin looked her in the eye. "So you agree that Belorim must be saved from that sword! Is that not the nature of the Sunwell, as the last vestige of the Well of Eternity in Azeroth? To be a manifestation of the Titan's powers, a pure force of creation capable of leading this world's creatures into the shining destiny that was intended?"

"Your understanding of the origin of the Light is acute, Lady Liadrin. But you cannot pretend to know what my purpose is. The races of Azeroth must earn the privilege of enlightenment, the Night Elves came the closest all that long ago. But with the World Tree gone, that is at an end…"

It made absolutely no sense, and was beside the point so Lady Liadrin decided not to ask more about the Sunwell. Though, she we was really tempted.

"But Anveena, you want the mortal races to succeed, don't you? That's what it seems like to me. You certainly don't want us to fail. Before man can enlighten himself he must first be humbled. I want to humble Kael'thas Sunstrider, make him look life, the Light in the eye and dare to deny it." Then she added, "And if he returns… he may lead the people in healing this land so that you can at last be freed from your prison of flesh."

"And Azeroth will be that much closer to salvation." Anveena smiled. "You bargain well. However, I won't helping you for those reasons." Anveena was thinking of something. Her expression went blank while she put it all together. This made Lady Liadrin nervous. What was the woman doing? Throughout this whole exchange she had been so passionate, open. And now secrecy?

When Anveena looked up again, she donned a knowing smile. "But most importantly, Belorim will be very happy. That is what matters. I believe what you say about his father, Lady Liadrin. I also know that Belorim so wants to love others, to believe in them, the way you say Kael'thas was when he was young. Belorim reaches through the Whitebade with the powers of the Light that flow through him, attempting to touch every person who comes near. He so wants to be alive, to touch and interact with people the way others do."

"Are we in agreement then?"

Aveena sat up straight. "The skull of Anasterian Sunstrider is needed to free me and Kael'thas has it."

"Anveena, I can certainly try but I can't guarantee—"

"That is why I am not asking for it." But somehow, she still was. "The ones who made me will not stand for the Titans to be defied for much longer. I love life, Lady Liadrin. It would deeply satisfy me if we could retrieve it, without using force. However, I don't worry about me, Belorim's life is what is most important in this situation. I will find some other way…" before Lady Liadrin could ask what she meant by that, Anveena said, "I will send Belorim with you freely, as a gift. But Kael'thas must not know who helped you to revive his son. Swear it."

"Of course… I swear that I will not reveal your identity, if that is what you wish."

"I am living here in secrecy for a reason." Anveena turned back to the night. "Eternal darkness… that is the Legion, and I am the Sunwell. They say, these days, that Kael'thas has become just as dark. You don't look surprised, Bloodknight Matriarch." She accused without turning her head.

"I am going to do everything in my power to bring Kael'thas back home. It will not be an issue!"

"As I already said, I choose not to solve my problems with force and violence if it can be helped. And another thing about the supremacy of life and love… The heart of a man cannot be predicted. Love is not precise, you see. But when we use it as a weapon, when we are committed, a great deal of good can be achieved through love. It is like magic in that way, the most powerful kind. That is why you came to me, Lady Liadrin, because you understand this."

They stood and shook hands.

"Tell Halduron he must help you retrieve the Whiteblade. I will take care of the rest."

And she had. Halduron's reaction to Lady Liadrin knowing absolutely everything about Anveena, and worse, that the clever Bloodknight Matriarch had won the Sunwell itself over to the side of Kael'thas was classic. Right after Halduron was done swearing himself hoarse, he promised Liadrin use of all his Rangers if that was what powerful Anveena, the Sunwell herself, wanted.

And so today, at last, the Whiteblade and the son of Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider were free.

Saturna's grave was reduced to rubble when it was done. That, and a scance view of the charred casket underneath several feet of loose rock was all that remained when the Magisters finished. It took four men to pick up the gigantic sword—and yes, it had been growing over the years—and presented it to Lady Liadrin.

At first, she was afraid to touch the enormous pulsing white sword a second time. The first time she'd communed with the weapon was when she learned of her protégé Saturna's tragic death. And even more horrible, this was moments after Kael'thas was forced to flee Silvermoon with her three Bloodknights. Over time, barely visible jagged notches in the blade's edge extended into points and these writhed and curled in steel, like stylized rays of the sun. The elegant metal sun rays decreased in size from hilt to tip. Finally, a disc of concentrated Light magic consumed the center of the long blade. That was the source from which the white enchantment flowed, its heart. It looked like the sun itself was burning up the sword, or rather, rising. That was how Lady Liadrin liked to think of the deathly beautiful Whiteblade. She had to believe that this was the beginning of a new hope.

Liadrin looked over her shoulder at Halduron, eyes wet. He seemed overcome as well. How is it that you never realize how much something means to you until you're bound to lose it?

He gently admitted, "I too… found comfort in passing by this spot, this sword in the mornings. My Lady, are you sure? What if it destroys—"

"Do it." Lady Liadrin grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the Whiteblade, forced him to look at it too. At his order, Rangers came forward and swaddled the burning sword in a rich dark cloth. That was put in a carriage with Halduron. A team of black hawkstriders pulled the entire entourage away from the burial site.

Lady Liadrin watched them go. The carriage rode south, as if Halduron's true intentions were inside the city. But Liadrin knew that, under cover of darkness, Halduron would return with the sword to Sunwell Isle, to kind and selfless Anveena.

_The next morning…_

It was rumored that Rommath was furious about the betrayal, and he'd ordered Lady Liadrin brought forth to the royal palace. Yes, a phalanx of Bloodknights rode down to the north coast of Sunstrider Isle on their red and gold armored warhorses to meet the Matriarch, but they did not apprehend her. As Liadrin had assured Halduron, they all had a sort of power to themselves under Rommath in this crooked dictatorship. Bloodknights would not betray Bloodknights. Anyways, they were being paid too well for it, by whom else but the Bloodknight Matriarch? So much for the Grand Magister's threats…

The ten Bloodknights shared knowing smirks as a majestic red Thalassian junk appeared on the horizon. The ship did not land, but a small rowboat was descended from the deck. After a while, she recognized the grim face of Lord Ranger-General Halduron Brightwing. He held the hand of a little boy. Halduron tied up the boat and helped Belorim ashore. He didn't look more than three years old. Exactly as she'd predicted.

Lucia the Tempestraven and Daphne the Weaver were Lady Liadrin's most loyal lieutenants and gestured for the eight other Bloodknights to stand back while their leader went to speak with Halduron privately.

"I disagree with Anveena." Halduron brusquely told Liadrin when they were alone a few paces away.

Lady Liadrin ignored Halduron and went down on her knees. "Hail, Prince of Quel'thalas."

Belorim wore a dark cloak. The hood was pulled over his face. Lady Liadrin reached up and pushed it back. Gentle blue eyes looked at her. They were not a blazing fel green, like other Blood Elves.

"Having been created with the magic of the Sunwell itself, he has no racial addiction." Halduron explained.

Lady Liadrin bid him hello, introduced herself. The little boy began to suck his thumb, said nothing.

At last Lady Liadrin acknowledged Halduron. "This_ is _for the good of all Blood Elves—"

"There is something terribly wrong with the child. He rarely speaks at all, and when he does, he is mostly talking to himself. He acts out, then blames it on some imaginary friend of his… it's only been a day but it became clear to all of us that it's just Belorim. No doubt he's volatile like his father."

Liadrin glared at Halduron and he stopped complaining.

"I'm sorry, it's just that we were all so worried about him during the long process and then he tried to drive us all crazy once he incarnated. I and many others feared for _our_ lives!" He sighed and began to look dejected. "Well, at first we thought it was something wrong with Anveena's conjuring… but, sadly, it is the child. Completing gestation inside the Whiteblade… changed him somehow. I did not understand Anveena's explanation, about the Light existing on an ethereal plane, deep within ourselves like love or music… but I think it is mostly to do with the fact that he wasn't born of a living, breathing woman."

"Halduron, what are you getting at?"

He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry but… he's dying."

Lady Liadrin gasped at the horrible news and hugged Belorim tight.

Halduron continued to tell her confidentially, sad, "I'm more angry at the situation the boy's been forced into. Belorim may never grow up to become the King you're imagining. His time in this life is very short. We tried, but could not fix the problem ourselves. We're not sure if it can be fixed." Halduron then let go of Belorim's hand. He did so reluctantly. "I am trusting you… we all are trusting you with his life. I beg you to heed Anveena's command. Bring him back if his father is found wanting. It would be a terrible tragedy to lose the father, as well as the son."

Halduron lowered his eyes, and after a pause he said, "All our hopes lie with you now Bloodknight Matriarch. I pray that the Light bless you."

Lady Liadrin kissed Belorim's forehead and hugged him. He felt so warm, so real at last in her arms. "I believe it already has," she cried.

But this was not an end, it was a beginning. A victory hard won that they hoped would lead to other victories.

Ten Bloodknights sensed it, clapped fists to their armored chests and triumphantly shouted their heartfelt salute to Belorim Sunstrider:

"My life, for my Prince!"


	2. The Knights of the Blood Nexus

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter One: The Knights of the Blood Nexus**

Prince Belorim Sunstrider peered down from the balcony of the World's End Tavern in Shatthrath City. He watched orphan children play outside. They screamed for joy at the top of their lungs, enjoying an exciting game of tag. They were a few years older than him, Belorim being only three years old. These little boys and girls were long-legged with knees scarred up from playing rough all day with nothing else to do save be hungry, or beg. But the difference between the two sorts of children was painfully obvious. Maybe the refugee children were worse off than a young Prince of Quel'thalas, but they were happy. Belorim longed for them in his perfectly tailored Thalassian clothing. Everything a brilliant red and gold—of course it was red and gold—though the Bloodknights had been instructed by Lady Liadrin not to call Belorim the 'Prince' out loud. It was too dangerous. For the time being he posed as the Bloodknight Matriarch's adopted son.

Lucia the Tempestraven, one of Lady Liadrin's Bloodknight lieutenants stood nearby Belorim on the black iron balcony. Beyond being irrationally armed, since she wore a green scarab-shell shield, had an enchanted red axe at her hip, a purple longsword on the other side, a long hunting knife strapped over her right arm… she smoked a cigarette too. Obviously, the woman was one of those psychotic ex-Ranger turned paladin types from the old Scourge-era Thalassian army. Normal Bloodknights never wore so much, or felt they had to. She largely ignored Belorim while he stared, and then shrank and sat on the floor to lean completely on the bars. One little arm reached desperately out.

Tempest began to answer a question Belorim never asked. "Those kids are the rabble of the earth. They are dirty, they have fleas, they stink. You'll catch something from them. Besides the fact that they've seen such unpleasant things in this Sun-forsaken wasteland that would make your hair stand on end. You do _not_ want to waste your time with them, my Prince. Now your rich and powerful father on the other hand—"

"You're mean." Belorim squinted up at her.

Tempest looked down at the little boy and huffed smoke out of both nostrils. "Well… that's true too, isn't it? Yes, little Prince, there are bad people in the world. I just wonder… no, I hope Pyorin will turn out to be on our side. I wouldn't want to…" she didn't admit to that part. "Well, if he and the others are doing the right thing, then we won't have to choose whenever we get down to Tempest Keep, will we?"

"What's that?"

Tempest waited a long time while she took another drag. But it wasn't that really, it was the question. "Did no one tell you that your daddy lived in a stolen dimensional warship built by the Naaru? And how he lies to so very many people…" Tempest decided to be maternal towards Belorim for the first time during their journey then. She chose to spare him the rest and settled on, "It's very pretty, Tempest Keep. Maybe we'll all like it."

Belorim pouted and continued to press his round little face up against the cold iron bars.

Eight Bloodknights in black plate stood in the rainy street outside, a story below them. They snapped to attention and saluted someone who rushed past their ranks and into the entrance of the inn below. Tempest grimaced, looked like she wanted to put out her cigarette then didn't.

Moments later, Daphne the Weaver knocked first and announced herself, then slipped into the apartment.

"Thanks for the warning, Virgin."

Kindly Daphne with her loose blonde hair she never did anything with and bright smile knelt and beckoned to Belorim. A gold heart locket slid on its chain and hung out of her shirt as she leaned over. Despite the terrifying black plate armor she and the others wore, Daphne never took off that beloved necklace. "Look what I got for you!"

She waggled an overstuffed teddy bear, hid behind it and started talking. "Hi Belowim. My name is Snuggles, and I'm going to be your fwend…"

Belorim gripped the bars tighter and turned back to the dreary world.

"He's not that kind of kid, Daphne."

"What do you know, letting him hang through the bars like that… and look how lonely he is, you won't even play with him. Just because I'm only a healer, and you're a tank you get to be the one in charge of Kael'thas son? I know better than you do Tempest."

Daphne came over and made the little toy bear hug Belorim. She loved it, but he bristled.

"When did you ever see that boy hug anyone during our trip? I'm telling you to stop."

"What does mean old auntie Tempest know, huh? She's got the maternal instincts of a cobra."

Belorim took one last look at the teddy bear, said that he was scared and started crying.

"You see!" Tempest shooed Daphne away. "He's been like this aaaall day. I talk to him, and he mostly cries. I try to move him, he cries, I ignore him… he's happy."

"But it's only a bear, Tempest! You're being ridiculous."

Belorim turned red when Daphne dangled it closer and began to scream even louder.

Tempest flashed anger at Daphne's carelessness and growled, "Now it's _my_ bear!" The protective tank seized the present and ripped its head off.

That's when Belorim started smiling. He reached up and a disturbed Tempest handed him the severed toy bear trunk, stuffing coming out of the neck and all. He kissed it and hugged it to his chest. Both women blinked at him.

Wide-eyed Daphne whispered, "Oh no… I think we broke him."

Tempest laughed and went back to her cigarette. "Nope, I think Belorim came out that way."

He took the decapitated toy bear by the arm and began swinging it around. "My daddy's like this! I like this bear!"

Both Daphne and Tempest winced.

The sound of saluting came through the door, and Tempest sputtered. "Dammit, Daphne! You were supposed to warn me—"

"But I just did! That's why I'm here. You're the one who chose not to put it out…"

Lady Liadrin saw them and shouted, "Who told you that you could smoke around the Prince of Quel'thalas!"

The two women stood at attention and clapped their loud salute to the Bloodknight Matriarch. Liadrin grimaced at Tempest and snatched the cigarette from her mouth.

"We've had lots of little talks about this."

"It was only a little one and for a few minutes… Besides, Daphne was _supposed_ to be the lookout, but no, she had to go to the market and goof off buying things—"

"Now it's _my_fault! You put me up to this in the first place… Whore!"

"Virgin!" Tempest stuck her tongue out.

"Ladies, please—"

"Look, he's going to have a collar, just like daddy!" Belorim raced over and waved the destroyed bear at Lady Liadrin so she could see.

She was horrified. "Who… how did he know that? Did either of you tell him?"

Daphne and Tempest admitted that they didn't know what their leader was talking about. Lady Liadrin motioned for everyone to whisper, picked Belorim up and walked to a table set with chairs. She sat Belorim down and then the three of them took seats. Belorim started hugging and talking to his headless bear.

Dejected, Lady Liadrin ordered Tempest to start the meeting.

"I, Sister Tempestraven—"

"Mother Tempestraven." Liadrin corrected. "Yes ladies, I'm afraid it's come to that."

"I, Mother Tempestraven, convene this meeting of Knights of the Blood Nexus." But Tempest didn't seem happy about it. Beneath the sweep of her short red haircut that gently framed her face, she set her jaw tight. "Now, what is this thing about the collar, and my declaring war on our brothers?"

Lady Liadrin leaned back in her chair and exhaled. "I talked to the Scryers… Kael'thas… he had his head cut off."

Belorim began to hum loudly to himself.

"What?!" Daphne flared.

"Why would he… but how?"

Lady Liadrin furrowed her brow. "Well, obviously Sister Tempestraven, he didn't do it to himself. It was done _to_ him, more than likely by Illidan." She gestured in a ring around her own neck, but doing so made the woman look like she was going to be sick. "So you see… an attempt was made on the Prince's life three years ago, but it was thwarted. No one knows exactly how it happened or why, only that after Kael'thas left Shatthrath City—"

"Wait, Kael'thas was _here_? With the Naaru? When?" Daphne fretted.

"Yes, Sister Weaver, as I said this was three years ago. His neck was intact then, they noticed. But when their spies saw Kael'thas again, months later, the neck was scarred by vile magic… stitches. They say he wears a collar because he has become Illidan's slave. Maybe that's even true. It's what Kael'thas more or less said when he buried Saturna all those years ago, went mad talking about a Demon in his mind, whom he called his Master. So, you see, we Nexites know some things and the Scryers know the other half. News travels so slowly between Outland and Azeroth."

Daphne and Tempest began to worry aloud about the implications of this.

Liadrin spoke over them, unsettled. "The question is, how did Belorim know that?"

No one had an answer.

She went on. "I have a feeling… the Sunwell is not capable of deceit, is she? Tell me honestly what you think."

Tempest and Daphne had no idea what Lady Liadrin was talking about. They did not know Anveena, they didn't know anything.

The older woman realized that she'd perhaps risked revealing too much. Liadrin drummed her fingers on the table. Belorim looked up from whispering to his bear, looked at Lady Liadrin like he knew more than even she did. Then the brief adult comprehension faded from his features and he turned gaily back to the toy.

Tempest screwed up her face. "He's odd—"

"The son of Kael'thas is a miracle. Don't dare speak against our young Prince again." Lady Liadrin pointed at Tempest, then slipped her extinguished cigarette inside her gauntlet.

"Oh, come on! I don't want it back, since you already took it anyway."

"Why can't you be addicted to only arcane magic like a normal Blood Elf?" Liadrin demanded.

"You kidding me?" Tempest coughed a little, "It's totally safer than an addiction to arcane magic. And I hope you're not just going to throw that out, I had to get it on the black market from Goblins… cost me an arm and a leg!"

"Yes, you go ahead and try to see when and where I throw it out. I know you too well." Lady Liadrin eyed Tempest up and down. Tempest hid her angry glare under the red sweep of bang. If not for the alluring haircut and throaty voice, Tempest could come off as terrifying as an Orc woman with all her weapons and bad habits.

"Sister Tempestraven, you are the worst case of Blood Elf assimilation into the Horde I've_ever_ seen." With a wave of her hand, Lady Liadrin dismissed the remainder of objections.

"Well, our young Prince's clairvoyance aside—which rivals that of Scryer spymasters somehow—there are several other things you girls need to be appraised of, so that you can prepare the rest of the Bloodknights before we set out for Tempest Keep. First of all, regarding the status of the last three Knights of the Blood Nexus, Saturna's protégé's… it's not clear if they've turned against us or not. And sadly, if they have, we will be forced to deal with them."

"So that essentially means we have three of the most powerful Bloodknights in existence to contend with if the business with Kael'thas goes badly?" Daphne asked.

Lady Liadrin glanced at Belorim momentarily. It wasn't clear if he was listening or not and it felt rude to speak about his father in front of him… but there was no safer place for Belorim to be than with the three of them, the remaining powerful members of the secret order of Bloodknights.

"Daphne dear… you, me and Tempest together makes three more immensely powerful Nexites for _them_ to deal with. If Brother Immortal, Brother Sly, and Brother Tank—"

"He probably sees himself as Father Tank by now, also trying to take Saturna's place… the way you are pushing me to do." Tempest put in.

"I want you to commit yourself to it whether he has or not. I am not going to wait until we are at blade point to decide what the future of the Blood Nexus will be. If Brother Tank and the others have forsaken their mission to rescue Kael'thas, if they have also succumbed to the dark forces rumored to be influencing our Prince… then you will be the one to cull the flock. Consensus or death. I won't remind you again that those are the rules of the Blood Nexus. It is absolutely necessary to go to these extremes. Rogue Bloodknights with a full mastery over the Light itself, who can bend the Light to their will are not allowed to roam through this life unchecked. That is precisely why Saturna and I founded this sect together. We six…" and she rolled her eyes, recalling Magnus the Unmaker, the wayward seventh no one liked to speak about, "are a testament to what real kind of power Thalassian paladins can do with the right kind of training and talent. That is what the Silver Hand does not want the world to know. But that's a deviation… Ladies, the point is, we all must begin to prepare for the worst. Brother Tank and the others may refuse to accept that they were sired by the Nexus and initiated into her elect network of Bloodknights for the good of all, but no matter what, we must be above that. Our unique strength as Nexites is really all that is giving Quel'thalas a sliver of hope now."

Daphne whispered, "And so we create and slay our own monsters, is that it?"

Lady Liadrin looked at the young blonde. "If you have a problem with being a tractable monster for the Nexus of Bloodknights and for the good of all Quel'thalas, then you should have never taken the rites, and stayed home."

"Yes, my Lady."

She arced an annoyed brunette eyebrow. "Yes, what?"

"Yes Matriarch. My life for my Prince."

"That is what I thought. Now, beyond the issue of Kael'thas' enslavement to the Demon Lord of Outland, and our own Nexites that we will have to contend with, is the matter of infiltrating Tempest Keep in the first place." She reached down under the table and produced a long rectangular package. "I told a few white lies to get this away from the Scryers, but it should help."

They watched while she opened it and lifted up a beautiful old Sunfury battle standard. A blazing gold phoenix soared across the red flag. There were also two smaller black banners, from back when all of Quel'thalas mourned the death of King Anasterian. Three years later, and many of the black banners, even the ones at the entrance of the Scryers' Tier, had been removed.

"This is the Sunfury battle standard that Voren'thal the Seer threw down when he defected from Kael'thas' army and pledged loyalty to A'dal. Kael'thas will recognize it… it's sort of like a white flag as far as the Scryers are concerned. Now, we aren't Scryers just because we are Blood Elves. We are of the same people, they are friendly to us… but we'd have to prove our loyalty if we wanted to learn all of their secrets. I told a few white lies about the sort of power I hold in Silvermoon City, and then I told them the truth about how I'd rather have someone else other than Kael'thas' Rommath on the throne, and for the people to know the truth about their Prince. They asked why they never heard of me before, and where were Regent Lord Lor'themar, and Ranger-General Halduron and all that… I just told them they were busy with the reconstruction efforts and we took a portal to Shatthrath City. For the most part, it's all true."

Tempest snickered, "And when they find out that Rommath wants to do us in for threatening all his Magisters with death for a few hours while he was drugged up?"

Lady Liadrin smiled. "Do you really think they care? Besides, it doesn't matter how we got here. Fleeing to Outland bought us all time as far as Rommath is concerned. The most important thing is that the Scryers believe us."

"So, then they also believe Kael'thas is a better leader than Rommath could ever be?" Daphne said sarcastically.

Their leader was firm. Liadrin said, "I knew his father, and I know him. I'm sure of it. But the Scryers took that phrase, telling the people 'the truth' to mean something else. And they also believe that I'm starting a sort of propaganda museum back in Silvermoon City to go with the Whiteblade our Brothers stole back from the Scryers Tier, and ended up in Saturna's gravestone three years ago. Too bad for them, they assume I'm going to spin the story of Prince Kael'thas in Outland their way."

"When you assume… you make an _ass_ out of _you_ and _me_." Tempest nudged Daphne with an elbow, recalling those times they spent together in the Thalassian army. "That's what Sylvanas Windrunner always told us Rangers. Now we're using it to our advantage against the Scryers."

Daphne smiled, briefly, recalling the good times before the Scourge.

"So ladies… Our current plan is to travel far north to Netherstorm, make camp at the base of Tempest Keep, put this up and wait. All very simple and non-confrontational. I hear that he keeps no guard or anything like that at the edge of the world… seeing as how the edge of the world should be more than enough to discourage an attack on a flying dimensional fortress. Hopefully, Kael'thas will see our great effort to surrender and have enough sense to greet us warmly."

"And, if not?" Daphne worried.

"We get the hell out of there." Tempest acutely perceived, and got up from the table. "That is, f the other Nexites let us."

Daphne averted her eyes. "Tempest, I hope you're not thinking of your ex again. I'm sorry to say it but if Pyorin has turned against us, we won't have a choice. We'll have to fight them. And you're my tank so I hope that you're ready for a possible confrontation with your old friend by the time we get to Netherstorm."

Lady Liadrin settled what fast turned into an argument between the two women. "If they start a fight, you two are responsible for ending it. However, you are to make every effort to settle it peaceably first. I told Belorim that we are going to try and see his father because the boy deserves to know Kael'thas. He deserves a chance. I want Belorim to see you try. If I can avoid fleeing with him, that would be best."

Tempest cleared her throat. "Before we end this meeting though… there's one more thing I have to ask. During your visit with the Scryers, did you learn anything about how… Saturna died?"

Lady Liadrin reached out and smoothed back some of Belorim's short blonde hair. He was busy flipping the headless bear around in circles.

"Voren'thal the Seer saw her die. She tried to save Kael'thas in the end… it's all they know. That, and the next time that anyone saw Kael'thas he had a collar around his neck and he did not look happy."

Daphne was afraid to look at Tempest when she said, "Do you think Brother Tank and the others did it? There really was no reason for them to flee Silvermoon the way they did. And maybe there wasn't consensus where Saturna was concerned, forcing them to—"

Tempest stood and knocked her chair over. She was not able to say anything though. Liadrin and Daphne looked up at her and dared her. Insisting against something so very possible at this point was illogical. And if Tempest broke consensus with them and the Nexus could no longer check her powers, she realized that her very life was forfeit…

Liadrin filled in the tense silence. "We can't be sure of that, Sister Weaver. But take heart in the fact that many of our kin changed their minds about Saturna. They saw how she sacrificed her life to bring Kael'thas to Shatthrath City and save him from Illidan. Maybe he never made it within the gates, but her nobility left an impression on the Scryers. To most them at least, she is a hero, however tragic. Perhaps one day soon… Kael'thas could be the same. We _can_ bring him home, we _can_ change the minds of even his enemies. If not for Saturna's example, we might not even have that chance, but fortunately now we do." She picked up Belorim and carried him to the door. "You should be proud of your mother, Belorim. She was a good woman."

He'd begun to chew on the bear's arm. Lady Liadrin kissed his forehead and bounced him around. "You _are_ a cute little monster, aren't you?" then to her soldiers, "Now go and don't waste any time with more of your antics. We have work to do."

"Yes Matriarch." Daphne and Tempest saluted and went outside to give the other Bloodknights their orders.

_Several weeks later in Netherstorm…_

As planned, they camped near Tempest Keep at the edge of the northernmost region in Outland called Netherstorm. The white airborne fortress hovered many miles above and was so large it dared to blot out the pale yellow moon. Veins of rose energy sparked at intervals in the deep violet sky. As Lady Liadrin had told them, the dry purple rock landscape was desolate. Not one Sunfury soldier or any of the Prince's men patrolled the area just below the keep. The Goblins at a nearby town called Area 52 reassured all of them that Prince Kael'thas never used such defenses and didn't look like he would ever waste effort on it in the future. Not when miles and miles of charged air formed a natural moat around the dimensional ship.

So they set up their tents, placed the old Sunfury banner close to the campfire so it could be seen, and settled down for the night. Five of the ten Bloodknights milled about, keeping watch. But there was no sign of reaction from Prince Kael'thas or his forces. Many hours passed and at last Lady Liadrin wanted Belorim to get some rest. She, Daphne and Tempest went inside. They were prepared to wait there for days if need be. However, it was a little disappointing, that they should come all this way—certainly drawing attention to their pilgrimage throughout Outland—and have no reception, be it fair or foul, whatsoever…

Until two men strode out of the darkness. A guard went to challenge them, but the one on the left, a shorter man with a wild ponytail made a hand gesture. His cohort stopped walking immediately, began to conjure gold Light magic…

When the alarm could have been raised, Sunthraze the Sly raised his red sword in the firelight. There were too many of them and he was stabbed midswing, but his healer unleashed his spell then and he was fully restored. Only perfect confidence in his healer's abilities could cause someone to keep fighting without uttering a word, without fear of even death. Fennore the Immortal, he was called. The most powerful Bloodknight healer in existence.

With that quickly and quietly done, Sunthraze made another swift hand gesture in the dark. He and Fennore split up to check the rest of the tents.

In their tent, Lady Liadrin sat cross-legged with Belorim asleep in her lap. He held the headless teddy bear in a miniature death grip while he slept. When there was a noise outside and the little Prince stirred, she readjusted his blanket.

The Bloodknight Matriarch frowned. "Let me guess, Tempest wanted a cigarette more than she wanted to see to the problem. It's been too long since I sent her to see what the noise was."

Daphne lifted her shield into place and dragged the Whiteblade nearby. It no longer glowed but the silver metal was such an uncharacteristic hue it could have been made entirely from white gold. They rushed to arm themselves, but before Liadrin could give the Lieutenant any directions the tent flap opened.

They never saw who it was, because the man was made of golden light itself. The magic he'd conjured into his body was bright, nearly blinding. Like looking into the sun.

Fennore the Immortal reached for the Matriarch of his order first. Both hands flashed from gold to white in a powerful sparking hot retributive spell. If he and his brothers were to continue living beside Kael'thas, she would have to die along with the rest of the Nexus…

But then Belorim hopped out from under his blanket and into the ambusher's way.

"Fennoweh! Uncle Fennoweh! Hiiii!" he sang.

"What the—"

The sight of an innocent child in danger who also knew him for some reason, coupled with the headless teddy bear hurtling fast at his face caused the molten Bloodknight to spook. Fennore fell backwards in surprise and crawled out of the tent. Belorim skipped after him, screaming for his 'Uncle Fennoweh' to come back.

Daphne gaped at Lady Liadrin. "I've never seen Brother Immortal before… was that really him? How did Belorim even know—"

The older woman rushed out of the tent. Her eyes adjusted to the dark at last and she recognized the long stringy hair, the bumbling awkwardness that was sometimes the most powerful Bloodknight healer in existence. She smacked her forehead. Of course Fennore had figured out how to turn himself inside out with a Divine Intervention spell… a healer made of pure light, invulnerable.

Well, invulnerable until now. Fennore cowered and covered his face when the little boy made from the magic of the Sunwell itself managed to hug—to actually touch—pure Light, that which was supposed to be untouchable. Fennore the Immortal was just a healer. He couldn't fight them with anything else. That lone invulnerability spell was supposed to be his edge. Belorim giggled and came in fast, tiny hands reaching and poking everywhere…

"Sunthraze!" and when there was no answer, "PYOOOORIIIIIIIIN! Help!"

_Speaking of Pyorin, moments earlier…_

Tempest smoked her cigarette, stared at nothing in the darkness. Everything was violet-black, so how could she ever have hoped to see the shadow closing in on her? The tall woman turned to the sound of scraping earth, someone running directly at her… but couldn't decide whether to finish her smoke or pitch it aside in time.

The strong man forced a hand over Tempest's mouth and tackled her to the ground. All her clinking weapons went too.

"Don't panic Tempest, it's me Pyorin."

Tempest lay still and impatient for him to realize that she didn't mean any harm either.

When at last she could talk, "Duh. Do you really think I'd stand out here all vulnerable on purpose? Oh, Pyorin! I knew that you'd come find me. Lady Liadrin's gone nuts and she wants us to fight each other." she hugged her ex-boyfriend and kissed his face with relief. As always, Pyorin was reluctant.

"Dammit! Are you still like this?" Tempest complained. "I'm not trying to get back together with you, meathead. I'm your friend. We are still_friends_ aren't we? You didn't come out here to say goodbye and kill me softly, have you? Well, HAVE YOU?! Say something…"

Pyorin really hesitated. He lay down next to Tempest behind the scant wall of rock just beyond camp. She could barely see the thick neck, the strong shoulders. It distracted her instantly. "Ooh, you cut your hair. I think I like it."

Pyorin grunted and clamped a hand on Tempest's wrist before she could run her fingers through his hair. And those were still clamped around a steadily going cigarette by the way.

"Look, I didn't come out here for this and we haven't much time, Tempest. Certain things have happened over the years that I can't get the other Nexites out of. It's not exactly our fault but… Lady Liadrin is sure to take it the wrong way, trust me on this. I can't really explain it all but you have to make everyone turn around right now and leave before it's too late! I don't want us to come to blows over this but Sunthraze and Fennore are really angry and waiting out there for my signal. But I lied, Tempest, I had to lie and tell them it was an ambush like we planned. You see, if they find out I disagree with them in any measure…"

Tempest finished for him. "Yes, I know. The rules of the Blood Nexus are consensus or death. I'm in the same sort of fix. The Lady wants Kael'thas saved and she wants to reunite him with his son. Anyone who stands in the way, even Nexites, is going to get—"

"What! Kael'thas is not a father, he can't be. That man's not been out or slept with a woman in three whole years!"

"Wow." Was all Tempest could say. "That's… pretty pathetic."

"He's a really big geek when you get right down to it, plus with Saturna gone and all… Wait, we're getting way off topic here. I told Sunthraze and Fennore to wait before attacking, but I've been gone too long looking for you as it is. Tempest, you said we're still friends right? I'm giving you all one last chance to turn around and take this performance elsewhere. I don't want to fight you. Do you think you can convince the others to just go back to Silvermoon and leave us be…" then he slyly added, "for me?"

"It's Saturna's son, Pyorin."

"Don't joke like that… do you know what we all went through after she died?! Maybe you want Kael'thas back in Silvermoon but making up something like that is going way too far—"

"Making it up? How could you accuse me or any of the others of doing something like that? Why would we lie about something so important? Saturna was_our_ friend too." Tempest thought quickly. "Why be this difficult, Pyorin, hmm? You could just agree with me and help us take Belorim to his father, but I think you're hiding something." She sat up. "No… Unless… Why would you assume the rest of the Nexus came all this way to do you in, unless you were really guilty of something? Daphne said it earlier, but I didn't want to hear the truth." She got upset. "But that's just my bias over you isn't it? Pyorin, are _you_ the other brothers responsible for Saturna's murder!"

"How in the…" Pyorin sputtered, "You're taking this the wrong way! How dare you accuse me. Well, if _that's_ the way it's gonna' be after everything we've been through together—"

Their heated argument had shielded a lot of the commotion already coming from camp. When someone actually went as far as calling Pyorin's name, the two ex-lovers fought each other in their scramble to get back up and race to help whichever side they now supported…

Tempest caught up with Daphne and Lady Liadrin, weapons drawn. Pyorin had to concentrate for a moment before he realized exactly what was bothering his man Fennore.

"What in the—Is that a headless teddy bear he's beating him with?!"

"Uncle Pyowin! Hiiii! Pick me up!"

"Gah!"

"Stay back, Brother Tank, it knows us… it knows our _souls…_"

A third man came to the campfire. He held a long red sword slick with blood in one hand. The other was a bare fist, turned blazing white.

Sunthraze the Sly pointed at Lady Liadrin. "This is at an end, Matriarch. Do you really think my Brothers and I would go down so easily? We're not slaves to your manipulations or your games anymore. As Nexites, we've made our choice to stand by Kael'thas, and so help me—"

Tempestraven crossed the line and shoved him. "Get away from the Prince!"

Sunthraze came back up swearing. He found himself face to face with a giggling little boy who kept calling him 'Uncle Sunfaze.' A woman held him protectively in her arms. The young Bloodknight felt compelled to go a step further and crane his neck a bit, because Tempest was so tall, and look the beautiful woman in the eye. A sultry redhead glared at him, cigarette hanging casually out of her mouth. Sunthraze went back to ogling her body, at his eye level. Tempest stared him down.

Fennore, free of the little monster, got to his feet. "Um… would anyone care to explain what is going on—"

"You got a problem with your eyes, short man?" Tempest taunted Sunthraze.

"No. They're looking right where I want them to."

"Sunthraze…" Pyorin cautioned, "Mind the seductress."

"So this is your ex-girlfriend. What the hell is wrong with you, bed-head?"

Lady Liadrin spoke over everyone, "It seems we are at an impasse. Let's discuss how—"

"Look, I have to ask this. How are you doing that? You're Brother Immortal, I'm assuming?" Daphne had wandered over close to Fennore.

The man made of golden Light was charmed by the compliment from pretty woman and forgot himself. He smiled and bowed. "Yes, Fennore the Immortal at your service. You must be a fellow healer, I can tell. I'd be happy to show you, it's very simple really…"

Pyorin yelled, "No one is helping or showing anyone _anything_! Did you guys forget the strategy already, or are you just going to butter up our spells and hand them over on a silver platter for the rest of the Nexites to copy! Now stop messing around and—" He put a hand on Daphne to get her away from their healer…

That was when, in the fire light, Pyorin got a good look at her too. "Oh, um… I'm sorry ma'am."

Once more across the campfire, "Uncle Sunfaze, where's daddy?"

"So Tempest, I hear you're the one who broke Pyorin. Wanna' try breaking me too?"

"Oh, you're bad…"

Lady Liadrin covered her face. "Ugh… not _again_ with these horrible girls!" After many failed attempts to put a stop to it, the Bloodknight Matriarch put fingers in her mouth and let forth a sharp whistle. Nearly all conversation, naughty and nice ceased. Except for Pyorin. He was busy asking Daphne why she smelled like peppermint. Tempest glared, then swatted through the fire at her ex-boyfriend. She should have burned herself but didn't seem to notice. Everyone winced at that sort of jealous fury.

"Since we're the only ones awake, I can see now that eight of my Bloodknights have been slain! I demand that you three explain yourselves."

Pyorin came forward and glanced nervously at the other men. "I am Father Tank now. I didn't want to meet you all again this way, but it's become necessary. We have decided to support Kael'thas, no matter what. You're the ones who have come to attack us. We know the rules, consensus or death. I'm not going to stand here while you and your cronies—"

"Cronies?" Tempest interrupted, newly irritated with her ex. "I am _Mother_ Tempestraven now, not just a Nexite. And I say that _you_ are the ones out of line. They're hiding something, Lady Liadrin. I can tell! I know Pyorin and when I asked him…"

Lady Liadrin put hands on her hips. "When did you have time to speak privately with the enemy? Why am I _not_ surprised!"

Fennore flashed a disappointed look at Pyorin. "'We have to attack them,' you said, 'before Kael'thas finds out that we were behind everything,' you said…"

Sunthraze boggled, "Wait a second, was _I _the only one who was willing to go through with this? Why didn't you guys just tell me! What is_wrong_ with this organization!"

Lady Liadrin heated, "So you all aren't acting on Prince Kael'thas' orders? You've come down here to start a fight with us all on your own? What a rare show of loyalty to the Prince of Quel'thalas Pyorin, going against his will like this."

"Look everyone, it wasn't really like that! I wanted to come here in the first place to prevent a fight. You see, I was trying to _convince_ Tempest—"

Daphne tapped Pyorin on the shoulder. "You've got… a little lipstick," she motioned to the corner of his mouth.

Pyorin had nothing to say in defense of himself after that.

There was a very long uncomfortable silence between the six Knights of the Blood Nexus. Belorim sensed it too. He hugged his headless bear and sucked his thumb nervously.

"Well…" Sunthraze smiled kindly at Tempest and tried, "at least that answers one of my questions. You're easy so I shouldn't have a problem."

Tempest tensed. Daphne wordlessly came over and took Belorim from her. "Thanks, Virgin."

"Wait," he laughed, "Who's a virgin? Not you—"

Tempest reeled back then punched Sunthraze hard in the face. He fell over. Again.

Fennore ran in to heal his friend, but Daphne warned him not to get in _her _friend's way. Pyorin didn't want Fennore fussing with Daphne for some reason and Tempest took that opportunity to strike her ex-boyfriend once more. Sunthraze came back then, red-faced, jumped onto Tempest's back and started pummeling her like some little kid, which was pretty accurate considering their size difference.

While the tall woman turned in annoyed, helpless circles and everyone else around Tempest and Sunthraze shouted and shoved, Lady Liadrin and Belorim watched. She'd wisely retrieved Belorim from the fray just in time.

She mourned to the little Prince, "This was supposed to be such a respectable secret organization of Bloodknights… When your mother and I started to recruit years ago, we had such high hopes. What has the Blood Nexus come to?"

Belorim pouted and handed Lady Liadrin his headless bear.

"Thank you, my Prince."

"My daddy's gonna' put dem all in the corner. They're bad." He observed.

Lady Liadrin glanced up at Tempest Keep hovering in the sky. Well, they had to actually get up there first. And that sort of reaction from Kael'thas would definitely be a best case scenario at this point…


	3. Everyone's in on the Miracle

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Two: Everyone's in on the Miracle**

The Sunfury scout blinked and tried peering through his ornate spyglass again. It looked like… six grown men and women, half in red plate, the other in black were running around chasing each other and screaming? No, they weren't children, though they were certainly acting like it. And he couldn't put his finger on it but he was sure he recognized the three men wearing what looked like Sunfury armor. But there was no way, just no way that Kael'thas' three champions were carrying on like…

"Those damned chuckleheads are at it again." General Nathaniel Blaize of the Sunfury army sighed, put his own spyglass down beside the scout and leaned his head on an open palm.

The scout, General Blaize, and two other Sunfury officers lay on their stomachs on a purple rock ledge about half a mile out from the ruined Bloodknight camp. Blaize was a middle-aged gentleman with lots of long red hair the exact color of his red plate armor. The hair color was just a coincidence though. The white streak that ran through the front of his uneven part wasn't however. About three years ago, Prince Kael'thas pointed out to everyone that his General used 'tired hair dye' and Blaize didn't have the heart to keep it up. It turned out that the gray suited him afterall.

"Well, what do you think General? How should we approach?" the officer on Blaize's right, named Dacian asked. He scratched his black goatee.

"What? Are you suggesting that I do anything less than run the Prince's entire army right over their heads? It would be nice, once and for all, to get Moe, Larry, and Curly out of my army." Blaize glanced back over his shoulder. Sunfury troops waited in mounted files on red Hawkstriders for as far as the eye could see. Moments ago, the scout had warned General Blaize that there was a disturbance ahead and they were forced to stop their return to Tempest Keep mid-march.

Blaize's officers smiled at the joke.

After a thoughtful silence, their General concluded, "Well, there's nothing to be done about it though. Prince Kael'thas was right. His spies warned that a band of ten suspicious Bloodknights were headed this way with a child. I was hoping to stay out of it and leave the particulars to Advisor Sorn. He's so much better at handling Kael'thas' temper tantrums than I am. Now, however, it's become my problem too." He peered through the spyglass again. "Too bad it's so damned dark. Beyond the black armor I can't tell exactly who we're dealing with, if it's someone I might recognize…"

The scout went back to looking too. "They're starting to really fight each other now. But I've never seen Bloodknights do _that_ before. And lookit, General, they're copying each other's spells. That one just threw a shield of light at the Prince's champions… Ha! The three of them are pinned there, stuck mid-air."

Blaize's two officers shared devious grins and looked through their spyglasses as well. Dacian said again, "Now she's taking that shield off. I didn't know paladins, or Bloodknights or whatnot could fight like that, with a weapon in each hand. What's this woman, a vulture, a raven picking at corpses? She's circling them like it alright, going to hack that Sunthraze to pieces."

Blaize grunted dispassionate laughter. "Looks like she can't decide between Sunthraze the so-called Sly or Pyorin the woman-Tank. Hell, I don't blame her, I couldn't decide which one to pummel first either if I was so lucky."

Another round of eager laughter for their General.

Finally, the other officer named Falx grimaced and concluded, "Those six were all trained together. Do you see how the last one, that blonde woman, studies the men so closely? Her lips are moving, she's calling out their spells as if it were an exercise." Falx rarely felt the need to say anything at all when he could mete out such deathly looks.

Dacian interrupted, "But she's just a healer—"

"She isn't merely healing them, Lieutenant Dacian. She's weaving the light spells of her comrades into something complex and casting that on her ally, the tall redhead, the raven. In an instant the tank is healed and performs every enemy spell rapid-fire. I doubt she loses any mana over that, or even has to think about it. See there? The raven woman just unleashed every single spell those men used over the last few minutes in one shot."

Dacian grinned at Falx and let forth a low whistle. "General, it's a good thing you keep Lieutenant Falx around. All _I_ could see was a couple pairs of nice legs running around. And did you get a look at those—"

Blaize smiled and cut him off. "Well there's that too, isn't there. Scout, I take it that is why you were only able to appraise me of the situation at the last minute? My men almost marched right over you as well."

The Sunfury scout chuckled quietly and got to his feet when the General stood. Blaize rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Normally I'd just have us fly overhead on netherdrakes since we're so close to base. Bypass this whole mess and leave those annoying braggarts to their own demise. But the last woman… I do recognize her."

Falx smoothed back his long carmel hair casually and didn't look surprised. He was around Blaize's age and had known him longer. Dacian took his red winged helmet right back off. "You _know_ the Bloodknight Matriarch of Silvermoon? How?"

Blaize didn't turn to the man, but kept his eyes on Lady Liadrin in the distance. "I thought you understood… that we have a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy in this army. So… no asking exactly how I am going to disarm our latest important guest, and don't tell Kael'thas what I did once you've seen it. Got it?"

They nodded and got ready to go, but Blaize handed his helmet back to Lieutenant Dacian. Dacian looked a little lost, but then whistled for the General's page boy to come get it.

Blaize removed his gauntlets as well, handed those over and ran fingers back through his hair while the servant held a small mirror for him." Falx almost laughed. Blaize smirked inspite of himself, indulging the other man.

"Let's just say that I know the Lady Liadrin _very_ well. If she wants to bring a little boy to Kael'thas, I think I know exactly why she's doing it. We are going to help her, to help him… and then help ourselves back home to Silvermoon at last. You all go ahead so I can play hero."

Then Blaize turned back to his men. "FORWAAARD MARCH!"

_Back at the Bloodknight camp…_

Having served as Rangers in the Thalassian army, Tempest the Raven and Daphne the Weaver knew the sound of galloping Hawkstriders well, but not of this magnitude. They regrouped, one woman's back to the other and weapons drawn. Tempest's shield lay on the ground near her feet, but she raised an axe with jagged blade in one hand and a dark longsword in the other. Daphne lowered her bejeweled shield and readied the white enchanted mace she always carried.

Fennore the Immortal, Pyorin the Tank, and Sunthraze the Sly were more familiar with the sound but looked unsettled too.

"Blaize is pulling back from the Legion front?" Pyorin wondered aloud. "But hardly anything was accomplished out there during the year the Sunfury army has been away… Why would Kael'thas tell him to do that?"

Lady Liadrin seemed to realize what it meant. She called on her warhorse spell and a Thalassian charger in red armor summoned beneath her. She sat alert in the saddle, Belorim secured before her with one strong arm. The other held the Whiteblade out and ready.

Tempest turned to the Bloodknight Matriarch. "This could get ugly…"

"I know, I'm getting Belorim out of here." She shot Pyorin and the others a quick look and kicked her steed. They galloped south together, back towards Area 52 or perhaps Cosmowrench where the neutral Goblins were.

The five Bloodknights saw her reach the far road but a charge of armored hawkstriders emerged on the horizon just then. Lady Liadrin reigned in and turned southwest, but more soldiers emerged. Her mount staggered a bit confused after many more of these false starts, and she was forced to race away. There were so many soldiers one could no longer see the landscape of spiraling violet rock against what was now a rose-colored sunrise. Liadrin rode with Belorim back to her Bloodknights, defeated. There was absolutely no escape. They were all hopelessly surrounded.

Liadrin galloped up looking as panicked as her horse. She shouted for the Sunfury soldiers to have mercy because she had the son of Kael'thas. Belorim was crying. But they kept coming. The brunt of Kael'thas army was terrifying as well as impressive. The Sunfury hadn't stopped for her, they wouldn't stop for anyone. It looked like they would be overrun.

Sunthraze shook his head and shouted over the noise. "Of course Blaize would take this opportunity to try and do us in! That fat, conceited old bastard…"

Pyorin called for their Netherdrakes, but there was not a black flying dragon anywhere in sight. The pale sky was desolate.

A tight ring formed around everyone and shouts were ordered for the march to halt. Two officers on black mounts came and reigned in about a foot away.

"I am Lieutenant Dacian. You are in the presence of the Prince's royal Thalassian army and you are intruding on Sunfury territory. Disarm!" he shouted at the women.

Daphne knew better. She put down her shield and mace immediately, and nudged Tempest. They waited a long while for her to take all her weapons, even the concealed ones off. Lady Liadrin refused to dismount. She kept the Whiteblade threatening and ready in one hand and terrified crying Belorim firm in the other.

Lieutenant Falx shot her a cold glare, pointed two fingers overhead and flicked a black gloved wrist. Sunfury soldiers jogged forward and locked Tempest and Daphne in metal shackles. Tempest gave Pyorin a pleading look.

"These women are Bloodknights and guests of the Prince—"

"We don't take orders from you, or have you forgotten?" Raven haired Lieutenant Dacian lifted his chin. "Madam, this is your final warning. We don't care who you think you are. Dismount and disarm!" he pointed a sword at Lady Liadrin.

Her horse danced around nervously. It looked ready to bolt. The Bloodknight Matriarch looked ready to kill Dacian and everyone else. She summoned up a thick flickering red Seal of Blood to make that painfully clear.

"I will _not_ hand over this child—"

"At ease!" A voice carried up from the heart of the army. Dacian and Falx shouted 'Make way for the General!' and all the soldiers shouted salutes at once.

"My life for my Prince!"

Pyorin, Sunthraze, and Fennore just rolled their eyes. They knew what was coming…

A large red hawkstrider bird mount in polished gold armor strutted up before the rest. Its rider stood in the saddle, a hand cocked easily on his hip. His red cape flowed in a convenient breeze just then. Violent lightning gone red against the sunrise flickered and sparked overhead. The rapport of thunder resonated off rocks and tense bodies all around. The natural introduction of the handsome man who commanded such respect was not lost on the women. And… it became clear that Blaize was not fat, as Sunthraze had insisted.

"I know you well, Lady Liadrin." General Blaize smiled easily.

"Nate!" Liadrin cried with relief. Her quick breathing eased. She made her Bloodknight mount stop fidgeting. "Thank goodness it's you! Oh, it's been so long… I had no idea that you even still lived. And then not just survived out here… promoted and all…" She floundered for a long moment, and reflexively looked down at her appearance. "I didn't expect… It was not my wish to meet you again this way, Nate."

"Nate?" Sunthraze screwed up his face. The other guys groaned too and rolled their eyes.

"Then let's not." General Blaize smoothly dismounted. As soon as his feet hit the dirt, he bowed to her. "Besides, you are surrounded as is the custom with newcomers. You'll have to excuse my men." He laughed lightly. "They didn't see this, but I did." He strutted over to the fire and picked up the old Sunfury banner. "Unhand those ladies!" he ordered. "Now that I've come to your rescue my Lady, it would be foolish to flee, don't you agree? Nor do I want that boy to come to any harm. What is his name?"

"Belorim." The Bloodknight Matriarch said, and dismounted even though Tempest and Daphne begged her not to do it. General Blaize smiled as if he already knew the answer though.

Once she was safely off her horse and it desummoned, Blaize motioned to his soldiers. Someone came and took the Whiteblade away, while Lady Liadrin was occupied with the boy in her arms. She was focused entirely on General Blaize and didn't even try to defend herself.

"You are beautiful as always," he came forward and freed her hand enough to kiss it. "Now, shall we go and speak with the Prince of Quel'thalas about your very relevant concern for the child?" At that, he flashed an angry look at Pyorin, Sunthraze and Fennore for disobeying orders. "It also sounds like you three have a very interesting story to tell the Prince."

Lady Liadrin abruptly announced, "This is also Saturna's son."

Gasps rose up from the crowd. General Blaize seemed to think it was just some kind of clever joke and smiled even wider. Fennore's golden healing form gave out then and he died, which was a rather overly-dramatic response to the news until a Sunfury priestess who was standing by resurrected him right away. Clearly the Prince's men were used to the Bloodknights' strange powers.

"Would you please resurrect my men as well?" Lady Liadrin boldly asked. "Eight of my Bloodknights were slain because of foolishness. They are also loyal to Prince Kael'thas and are eager to meet him too. As you can see," she glared at Pyorin, "We were carelessly ambushed."

General Blaize extended his arm to her like a gentleman and Lady Liadrin took it. "Whatever the Lady desires… it certainly wouldn't be the first time we took in a few doe-eyed Bloodknights."

The other soldiers laughed at the joke directed at Pyorin, Fennore, and Sunthraze, charmed by their beloved General. The three guys frowned at Blaize.

As the flying black netherdrake mounts were brought out for the flight up to Tempest Keep, Fennore circled back in to the newly freed Daphne and Tempest. Lady Liadrin was smiling and blushing a lot at General Blaize some distance away.

"Look how her panties dropped when that General Blaize guy showed up. Who the hell does he think he is?" Tempest whispered.

"Saturna's ex-husband. And no, none of us are going to explain what is a long and perhaps annoying story. But notice… maybe Blaize saved you, but you've still been disarmed."

Sunthraze smirked and nodded at Liadrin. "Her too."

Sun fully risen, Tempest and Daphne finally got a good look at the other Nexites then. Fennore the Immortal was a gaunt flaxen-haired gentleman who, despite his spooky features, nearly always exuded a kindly warmth. The strong jaw and clefted chin suggested that he was once a handsome young man but the trials of war and perhaps something else nefarious unsettled him now in middle age. Sunthraze the Sly was lean, and much younger. It was the mischievous daring that shone through every gesture and sarcastic facial expression which made him most attractive. His natural performances were tantalizing to watch. A counterbalance to that intensity in one so young, Sunthraze had wild hair the exact color of a tangerine. It flared out of his high ponytail and had a tendency to bob comically when he talked, though the Bloodknight was often more mean-spirited with his wit than capricious.

Pyorin came up to them last. He sighed with disappointment at their situation and ran fingers back through black spikes of short hair. And then there were all the other earmarks of a tank: strong build, intimidating mien… it was exotic enough for a Blood Elf to be his size, and the ladies didn't miss it.

Daphne whispered to Tempest, smiling a little, "Why were we fighting them again?"

"Each one of us is going to give you girls a ride."

Both women blinked.

Pyorin gave them a curious look then whistled for his black dragon mount. Fennore and Sunthraze did the same. Fennore kindly offered Daphne a hand up before Pyorin could, and there was no way he was fighting for Tempest. He would have helped Lady Liadrin and Belorim but Blaize had already seen to that.

Tempest took her time saddling up in front of Sunthraze and his chesire cat grin.

"Well, look at that Raven. We're about the same height now. I won't have to climb up very far… thought it would have been great fun."

Fennore winced and flew away with Daphne. Pyorin shook his head.

"Look you, my name is Tempest!"

"Whatever, it's a stupid Bloodknight name to begin with." He urged his mount up into the air with the other soldiers who started to take off. "You see the kind of power me and my friends have around here, _Raven_? Kael'thas' General came out here to help _us_. Therefore, no one is going to blame you for hooking up with one of the Prince's champions." Sunthraze scooted in closer to her. "Come on, honey, you know I'm good for it."

Pyorin made a face. "Sunthraze, watching you come onto a woman is like watching a train wreck. Tempest, he's just showing off 'cause you scare him so bad. You'll have to excuse him."

Tempest smiled sweetly at Pyorin, her old friend. "Thanks, but I can handle this myself." She leaned back into Sunthraze who was still smiling dumbly and whispered into his ear, "Did it feel good when Saturna sidled up close to you, like this," His hand slipped on the reigns and the netherdrake almost dropped both of them. "And then told you she loved Kael'thas more?"

"How did you know—"

"I didn't have to. It was all over your face back in Silvermoon City four years ago as it is now. But she turned you down, didn't she? The same way I'm turning you down. You know what else Sunthraze? Back then, you were just an initiate into the Blood Nexus. You didn't see me but I saw you. Pyorin sired me first before he sired you. Therefore, I am stronger than you, and better than you. I am more woman than you could ever handle. And you know what else, short-stuff? When do you let me off this thing, and you're going to have to eventually… I am going to chain you up and beat the living snot-piss out of you!"

Sunthraze cleared his throat and backed off.

Pyorin laughed, "Look who else's panties just dropped."

Sunthraze turned red, but was afraid to say anything else.

_Later within Tempest Keep…_

Kael'thas was yelling.

"WHO told Pathaleon the Calculator that he could shut off the entire ship systems? And after Astromancer Darthalla and I worked so hard to clean up his mess the last time!"

A timid voice replied, "I… I don't know, I think he did it on his own. But now the life-support systems are offline, and then even the dimensional engine…"

The entourage comprised of General Blaize, Lady Liadrin and Belorim, the Bloodknights and Sunfury guards walked briskly down a hallway with a slick glass floor. Lieutenants Dacian and Falx were off in the Keep barracks with the majority of the army. Many glowing levels of crystalline infrastructure pulsed violet stories beneath their feet. Walls and ceilings around them were made of unblemished white stone. There was a constant hum about the ship, as if Tempest Keep was a living sentient creature. Enlightened and patient like the Naaru, content to wait for its master to work the ultimate beautiful miracle for which its delicate technologies had been destined.

The voice of the Blood Elf Prince echoed down the hallway. It was coming from behind two large red glass doors that slid open and closed as terrified black-robed advisors rushed in and out of what must have been the Prince's office. All the Bloodknights craned their necks to see slim glimpses of Kael'thas as the doors moved on their own, by some magic.

Reuniting with the Prince of Quel'thalas again would have been an incredibly emotional moment if not for his temper. Kael'thas' loud angry voice shattered the mystical peace of the beautiful hallway, the enchanted sliding glass doors, and the gentle hum of the ship.

"FIX IT!" Kael'thas exploded now. His voice rose suddenly when another humble advisor backed through the doors, bowing rapidly. "You tell Pathaleon that he'd better get this ship running properly again or I'll skin him alive and burn his raw flesh! Next advisor!"

Lady Liadrin hunched her shoulders, but Blaize had a firm hold on her by now, however gentile the gesture looked. He was not going to let her get away. Everyone was beginning to understand now why Blaize had made it so easy on them.

A woman advisor in a black robe and cap ran past them, noticed General Blaize and turned direction immediately. She raised a hand for all of them to stop and slipped in through a set of rose-colored sliding doors on their right. She came back pulling along a tall man in similar robes, though decorated with muted blue filigree. He had a neatly trimmed beard, short hair from what they could tell under his round little conjurer's hat and wore a stylized sort of monocle. It looked more like what a technician might wear with its thick blue lens and leather strap than an advisor to the Prince of Quel'thalas.

Chief Advisor Sorn introduced himself hurriedly and lifted up his strange eyepiece to get a good look at them.

"Tsk. A Highborne boy and another pack of Bloodknights? Lady Liadrin, was this really the best you could do?"

Liadrin was startled to have someone she never met speak so easily with her. And about her secret mission of all things. "Um… excuse me?"

Sorn sighed. "The Prince's spies told us you were coming a while ago, but sadly this sounds like yet another 'Kael'thas, I've birthed your son so you must now return to Silvermoon' tactic."

"Actually, I lied to everyone about adopting Belorim, _Prince_ Belorim that is. He really is the son of Kael'thas and the late Saturna Whiteblade."

Blaize turned to her. "Liadrin, I didn't want to say anything earlier, but that's really far fetched. We'll never get back home that way. Why not change it, let's say… he's Jaina Proudmoore's son."

"No, no, no General." Sorn waggled a finger. "We had a Jaina Proudmoore _impersonator_ last week, and Kael'thas did _not_ take too kindly to that."

"Someone actually did that to Kael'thas? That's awful." Daphne way in the back worried.

"How'd he react?" Tempest winced, starting to fear for them all.

Sorn started to say something but then Kael'thas shouted even louder this time, "Why are you in the Sunfury, you pathetic worm!" One could just barely see him throwing his hands up in the air. The person in black robes before him cowered on the ground. "Did you come all this way to Netherstorm just question your Prince? If I want my enemy obliterated, that is what you shall do. Now, go tell them to AIM THE DAMNED CANNON!"

Two more men in black robes and caps fled from the office, with what looked like engineering schemata in their hands. A third came after, blowing hard on his handful of crumpled papers. For some reason they were burning…

Sorn expertly spoke during intervals of Kael'thas' furious tirade. "Burnt them to a crisp, he did. And it was a mess to sweep up afterwards, like you wouldn't believe. So you see, the Jaina impersonator really hit home with our Prince and that was only the start of a very bad week, with the General having to retreat, fresh threats from Illidan… Oh, and there was another love note to you, Bloodknight Sunthraze, from Lady Vashj. I really think you should either go Zangarmarsh and see her once and for all or at least turn her down. The Prince so dislikes getting crate after crate of Underbog strawberries mailed to his office dressed so prettily but aren't meant for him. That is _your_ fault you know, for not giving her your specific address with the room number and all. Oh poor Kael'thas, he _is _still a bachelor you know. And worse, that they are from Lady Vashj of all people… ugh."

Tempest gave Sunthraze a look and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Sorn went on speaking rapidly as they approached the dreaded office of Kael'thas. "Well, if all you've got is the supposed son of Saturna Whiteblade, that'll have to do. Maybe since you're a Silvermoon official, Lady Liadrin, you'll last longer. Now wait here while I get him ready." Sorn clapped hands together in silent prayer and looked briefly up at the tall glittering glass ceiling. "You can do this Sorn, the faster we convince Kael'thas to go home the better…"

"We're all gonna die." Daphne turned and whimpered into Tempest's shoulder.

Sorn worked nothing short of a miracle on the man. They watched the muted silhouette of Kael'thas rise up from his desk, wave his arms about angrily—and there was even some unholy swearing involved—then the tall man turned to face Sorn. Chief Advisor Sorn kept speaking in a controlled voice, something about 'patience being a virtue, and wasn't Lady Liadrin a good friend of your father's?'… Finally, Kael'thas walked in front of his desk and leaned against it.

"Fine, then. Send them in." For the first time, Kael'thas sounded youthful, not just stern.

Belorim squirmed in Lady Liadrin's arms and happily clapped his hands. He let the headless teddy bear fall on the floor.

Sorn came back out, mouthed a 'thank the Sun' and swept up Belorim's toy without missing a beat. "Ladies, your destiny awaits."

Then, almost on cue, the red doors slid open for them. Lady Liadrin visibly steeled herself and walked inside.

Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider was a fiercely attractive man even when he was angry. Abundant blonde hair fell everywhere over his shoulders and framed a face that had such excellent noble features it was hard not to stare at him. Though he encouraged his people to think of themselves as Blood Elves some time ago, the term High-borne... a man obviously well-sired and begotten over many thousands of years by powerful and beautiful magically-enhanced men and women, only the best of all the Sunstriders, leapt directly to mind. The straight nose was perfect, the jaw sharp but light enough that Kael'thas still looked young, and through the intense gaze… somehow still gentle. They said that this was a man capable of effecting a great deal of kindness as well as doing evil works. One didn't need to know Kael'thas' history to realize this. All of the pain together with the beauty of what he experienced was there in that face.

Kael'thas also looked capable of smiling very handsomely, but he didn't now. One sort of longed to encourage joy in him… The temptation to please Kael'thas, to bring out that playful side was hard to resist. He leaned forward with shoulders hunched and hands placed casually on either side of the desk. That decidedly jaded look also teetered on the brink of another youthful extreme. He seemed like he could hop up any moment and strike a casual sort of conversation if someone would just give him a break. And he looked like he wanted to slack off, to give up on serious matters and have fun with everyone else. Maybe in another life, under different circumstances, Kael'thas could have been a chummy fourth musketeer to his own champions. But the Prince was so absolutely focused on business right now, it was painfully obvious how time and tragedy had even stolen from him the luxury of careless youth. Kael'thas had grown to understand and grudgingly accept the impossibility of his life.

And then, nearly marring all of that brooding charm was the hint of scar around his neck. The high collar of his red and gold royal regalia hid it from view, just barely. The women stared at it on reflex and found Kael'thas glaring directly back at them. The gaze was brazen-hot.

As she passed, Lady Liadrin noted that when she had seen Kael'thas last in ruined Silvermoon City six years ago, he had still been such a young man. Now he was filled out well with muscle. It looked like he'd put on a little weight also, but that suited Kael'thas. Anasterian had likewise looked so strong but also a little warm and tender like a father, a husband, and a good King of the people…

Kael'thas noticed Sunthraze's black eye as he passed by the desk to stand in the center of the room with the others.

"I see someone started my work for me." When Kael'thas yelled it was one thing, but when he spoke in a normal tone of voice, the penetrating bold masculinity threatened to undo you.

It had been a joke, but Kael'thas didn't smile. "Which one of you did it? I'll reward you for beating my champion."

Everyone knew better than to speak up at this point. Kael'thas looked on the verge of something violent that Sorn had clearly talked him down from the brink of. Evenso, Kael'thas was still trying to pick a fight with every last one of them.

"My Prince—"

"I don't want to hear from you yet." Kael'thas cut Chief Advisor Sorn off and looked at General Blaize. "I assume your presence means that _all_ my soldiers have been withdrawn from the Legion front?"

"Yes, my Prince. I came here directly to report in to you."

"What is there to report? You're back aren't you? Unless the Burning Legion's Terrorfiends and engineers followed you to my doorstep."

Blaize heated. "No, Kael'thas but—"

"Then you are dismissed. You aren't needed anymore."

"My Prince, I have a stake in what is about to take place here. I saved the Bloodknight Matriarch from those idiots." He pointed at Pyorin and the others. "They nearly killed her and all of her men."

"We did not! You lying, fat—" Sunthraze flared.

Kael'thas spoke over Sunthraze. "My General is not a treasonous liar, Sunthraze the Sly. He is the only one in this whole damned ship!" Kael'thas paused to control his voice, "… who obeyed me to the letter this week. Fine then Blaize, stay if you want."

Blaize didn't thank Kael'thas. The General was no fool, and hadn't forgotten about the 'fat' comment.

Sorn spoke again. "Before we deviate from that topic, your Majesty, might I ask _why _you are making it easier for the Burning Legion to run ragged over this land we need?"

"Who are all these people Sorn?" Kael'thas changed the subject and, for some reason, began to smile. He wasn't happy though.

Sorn cleared his throat. "Bloodknight Matriarch Lady Liadrin—"

"Rommath is so very angry about the sleeping pills." Kael'thas interrupted. "You look surprised. Did you not realize I keep in contact with him constantly through scrying orbs? He _is_ a fellow mage you know, and the Grand Magister at that." He spoke sarcastically. "Why, I wonder, did you feel it was necessary to take the entire city hostage while you wrenched that sword away from where I put it for a reason!"

"My Prince, it was absolutely necessary—"

"Necessary! It was necessary for you to dig up the grave of my beloved? Absolutely critical to your order to upset the stability of _my_ city? Whom do you think told Rommath to make sure that the people don't have a reason to despair, to keep them fat and happy while I'm out here dealing with the brunt of it."

"Kael'thas, you talk about them as if they were sheep!"

"At least I've not deluded myself as to the real situation in Silvermoon. Do you think I wouldn't be there to make things absolutely perfect if I could? But free speech, an elected Convocation of Silvermoon and the political gridlock that comes with those sorts of things are the extravagant privileges of a society with nothing else better to do than mind itself." He stood up straight and gestured about the room, the messy papers everywhere, broken gadgets, a hardly touched meal on the desk behind him. "Does this _look_ like Quel'thalas is free to mind its own business? Do we have the luxury of caring only about ourselves anymore, ignoring alliances… Throwing mud in the face of the very person who's sacrificing _his_ life and _his_ freedom just to keep it all together?" he shouted, "Do I look happy to you, Lady Liadrin, friend of my father? Do I look like I have time to chase after women," he gestured at Tempest and Daphne, "to marry for love or money, just to produce heirs, just to sit on that royal ass-print my ancestor Dath'remar left on the throne thousands of years ago? And for what? So a few people can complain about my celebrity, gossip that sons and daughters aren't worthy enough for Silvermoon, or that my wife isn't the right type of blue blood to be Queen, so I can send my precious children away to Dalaran or wherever else to study and grow up in peace… my life, my fucked up life is not some game for you to play around with!"

His eyes were wet. Kael'thas pulled a deep breath and leaned back on his desk. He crossed his arms.

More calm, but no less threatening, he asked Daphne, "Who are you?"

She tried to answer, but he cut her off. "A younger version of Saturna Whiteblade. And you?" he looked at Tempest. When she wisely hesitated, "Your Prince asked you a question!"

Tempest said, "My name is Lucia, but everyone calls me Tempestraven."

Kael'thas cocked his head to the side and shot her an incredulous look. "You're kidding me right? Is that name supposed to be… enticing to me somehow? Are you gonna' hang around Tempest Keep, circling my head like some bird of prey, hassle all the men here?"

Tempest got angry. "My Prince, it is only a coincidence. I am named for my Tempest of Light spell…"

He got up and they all parted a little when Kael'thas came to stand directly in front of Tempest, inches away from her face. "_You_ have been staring at me this whole time! Do you like what you see, hmm? Are you ready to come to my bed now so that I can make you the Queen of Quel'thalas? Let's cut out the part where you masturbate the entire ship into a state of frenzy over your unrequited charms so that I can come crawling to you on desperate hands and knees at last, consumed by lust… that would be much faster, wouldn't it Lady Liadrin?" he glared at her next. "So is that what you all heard about Saturna and I? Have you come all this way to use some overblown rumor of our love against me when I'm still mourning her, like some weapon! None of you people know me at all. You don't truly care, or else you wouldn't be here. You would have left well enough alone!"

Lady Liadrin defended her girls, "Kael'thas, that was rude and unnecessary!"

"Oh, but I'm not finished! I haven't even started on the boy yet." He paced back to the desk.

Belorim had got very quiet.

"What's that thing you have Sorn."

"Oh, these are the latest Tempest Keep reports…"

Kael'thas sighed, exhausted. "No." he gently corrected him. "That rotting, brown monstrosity." He reached over and took the headless bear from him. Kael'thas leaned back on the edge of his desk, looked at it for a while then started laughing. He sounded like a crazy person. "Is this supposed to be me?" he held it up next to his face, lined the wounded toy up with his neck. "Of course _my_ son, the best reason in the world to return to Silvermoon, would have a toy like this. Charming." He tossed it on the floor.

Belorim looked at it fall, then hugged into Lady Liadrin's shoulder to hide his face.

Kael'thas stared straight ahead for a few moments listening to something they couldn't hear. It caused them all to look around the room for some noise…

"Oh, it's gets better, actually. There's someone else who's got something to say about all this. Go ahead Illidan…" then his voice delved low into a hollow demonic tone. It did sound exactly like Illidan Stormrage, the Lord of Outland, but the lips that moved, the facial expressions, the hand gestures were made by Kael'thas:

"_I find this all vastly amusing. The one trespass Kael'thas has committed against me to go to Silvermoon and bury dead Saturna Whiteblade has finally come back to haunt him. He took comfort in that, did you know, that she was laid to rest. It was the one way in which he was able to stand proud throughout his enslavement these last three years. But at the start of this week, when he heard what you did Bloodknight Matriarch, it broke his heart. Then there was the crisis with Pathaleon and the warp engine, the Jaina lookalike, the retreat of his forces from the Legion front, all embarrassing failures for him. Thank you for finally and utterly breaking this man for me, Lady Liadrin. Ha! Bloodknights as saviors… Yes, together, we shall save him yet."_

Kael'thas leaned over a bit when the possession was done. He rubbed his head, as if it throbbed. Sorn came over and put a comforting hand on his back.

Lady Liadrin did not know what to say. She covered her mouth and shut her eyes against the overwhelming wash of sadness. She thought that she had been doing such a good thing…

"General Blaize." Kael'thas said after a time.

"Yes, Kael'thas."

"I want you to take all of these people to the prison in the Arcatraz."

Lady Liadrin cried out that it was unjust. Kael'thas spoke over her. "Send a mage back on the way, I'm going to have this orphan—and I don't know how you forged the Sunstrider mark on that boy, which is offensive by the way, but that doesn't matter now—sent back via portal to Silvermoon City. He's seen enough of Outland to last him a lifetime. Meeting his Prince like this… the scar on my neck, this unsettling exchange, all of that is sure to traumatize him. This is _your_ doing Lady Liadrin!"

Blaize did not want to move, but his soldiers started out…

"Not _them_, just the ladies!" Kael'thas asserted when the Sunfury guards started to apprehend Sunthraze, Pyorin, and Fennore too. "You know, for _my _champions, few people in this place have very much respect for you three. And for once around here, _that_ kick to morale is not my fault."

General Blaize nobly stepped forward in defense of Liadrin. "Prince Kael'thas, I know that you are displeased, but Lady Liadrin has come here with an important message for you, a miraculous revelation that bodes well for you and the future of our people. And I know her well. On my honor as your General, which you have always been able to trust, I vouch for the Lady's words."

Kael'thas averted his eyes and mumbled, "That's a lot of assumptions you're making."

"What was that, my Prince?"

Rather than repeat the concealed insult, Kael'thas crossed his arms. "There is a saying about 'Bloodknights bearing gifts' isn't there, Blaize? If not there should be, there had better be after what you and I both went through with…" Kael'thas wasn't going to say her name now. He was speaking out of anger and it wasn't fair to Saturna's memory. His expression softened.

As they dragged her out, Lady Liadrin tried one last desperate time. "Kael'thas, this _is_ your son with Saturna, and I came prepared to prove it." She looked down at Belorim. He pulled on her arm, but a Sunfury soldier separated them. This left Belorim crying in the middle of the floor by himself.

Kael'thas turned his horrified gaze on Lady Liadrin. "How dare you… I killed someone in cold blood on that very spot earlier this week, burnt them up for standing in here and pretending to be much less callous than you are now. Pretending to be Jaina Proudmore… who would even be cruel enough to waste my time like that, after everything I've been through? And now this! If you weren't friends with my father—"

"I am still a friend of your late father, come to help you!"

Kael'thas raised his hand for them to pause taking the Bloodknights away, when he had one last thing to say. "Everything that I loved died on that summer night three years ago… Sending Saturna to me on that unreasonably dangerous mission was not enough? Risking her life… _losing _her and my son, my real son, weren't enough? How can you be this heartless Lady Liadrin? And then ontop of it all, you unsettled the resting place of that precious woman, the one thing that ever went right in my life! Do you know how that feels?" his voice broke. "I risked everything to keep her safe in the end, after I failed her, and you take that away from me. That was the one last thing I had…"

"But it's true Kael'thas! It took me three years… Will you please let me explain everything to you, about how Saturna modified her Whiteblade spell so that she could do whatever it took to save your son, even the way she named him? I went so far to get Belorim out of the sword… It's a miracle he survived in there that long, and now he's—"

Kael'thas cut her off. "Let me explain something to _you._ When Saturna died, she was only two weeks pregnant, at best! I should NOT have to share this with you, but I want you to stop spreading these painful lies. There is no way a baby that young could ever live outside of its mother. It's just not possible. Furthermore, I don't believe there is anyone alive who could ever do the kind of thing you're suggesting, make the fragile essence of someone real, physical. Build a mortal being up from the scrap of sentience at the core of his soul, where nothing but the Light resides? To do that, you'd have to be… the Titans! You'd have to be one of the very beings that created Azeroth, made life, or some pure manifestation of their intent. Like everyone else, I know that the creators of this world finished with it and left long ago, eons ago. The Well of Eternity, then the second Well of Eternity that Illidan created from the vial he saved when he was a young man thousands of years ago, and now the Sunwell have all been destroyed, Liadrin. There's no getting it back. So, either you know someone who possesses godlike powers in miniature willing work that kind of a miracle, even if Saturna was so clairvoyant in that last tense moment of her life… Or, you're lying to me. Do you see how easy it is for me to decide which one is the truth?" He waved his hand. "Now take them away. I have more important, less depressing things to do."

"I can't tell you who helped me, Kael'thas I promised, but it is exactly as you've deduced. Please believe me! That person sacrificed so much to do me this one favor. And out of the kindness of their heart." Lady Liadrin twisted around as she was pushed through the door. "And Belorim possesses that very Whiteblade spell within himself if you need further proof… the mark of his mother. Ever since she was sixteen… Saturna tried to pass it on, I trained her as a Bloodknight so that I could help her to do it but it was never possible. It was hers alone. Belorim can turn the blade white too, because of the way she saved him. And then for that same reason, three years later, because she transformed your son into the Light itself, my sorcerer was able to extract him from the Whiteblade."

Kael'thas looked up briefly and raised both eyebrows. Deep down, he was too much of a scientist to let that theory go untested. The little boy stood crying loudly by himself before the large redwood desk in the middle of Kael'thas' plush office. The rest of his apartments branched off of this one room.

Kael'thas reached out and they guards stopped once more to give him the Whiteblade. He held it for a bit, attempting to make the trick work himself. "It's just a sword, Lady Liadrin. And it doesn't even look like Saturna's sword."

She waited anxiously, all of them did, for Kael'thas to turn it over to the boy. Such did Kael'thas love that fallen woman, he did not wish to share her sword with anyone else ever again after it had been abused. Not even to a blameless child who could not possibly want it.

Kael'thas knelt before the boy who kept crying and rubbing his eyes. He tried to smile for the little one, but it was hard to pretend that everything was okay when it wasn't, when Kael'thas knew that he was part of the reason for the boy's distress. Whatever lies Lady Liadrin had told the child, Kael'thas felt he couldn't participate in them, though.

"Would you like to hold the sword… what is your name? Your real name."

"Belorim."

"I don't want to get cross with you—"

"It's my name!" Belorim stamped his foot and screamed. Kael'thas flinched. "Belorim, Belorim, Belorim!"

The little boy flushed red, he was working himself up so much Kael'thas began to fear for the child's health. For someone so young to be so angry, it wasn't right, it wasn't fair…

Kael'thas set the sword down and hugged the boy. "Shhh…"

Everyone watched quietly as Kael'thas gave into that paternal instinct, held the helpless little boy and never let him go. After a long bout of screaming and crying even louder, such that Lady Liadrin was tempted to break free and just take the boy herself, Belorim calmed down. He'd cried for all he was worth, and just started listening to Kael'thas' gentle voice. Then Kael'thas sat cross-legged on the floor with him. Belorim crawled into Kael'thas' lap and hugged his little arms up around the bruised neck.

"I'm so sorry I yelled. I didn't mean to scare you." Kael'thas conceded to the boy's kind touch.

Belorim sniffled and mumbled something into Kael'thas' shoulder. When he heard it, Kael'thas patted the boy on the back and covered his eyes with his other hand.

"What did he say? Is he alright?" Lady Liadrin asked.

"He called me daddy." Kael'thas' voice broke, and he tried but failed to hide his own tears. "And I believe him. Oh, Belorim, Belorim… of course it's you. You feel the same as when you were in your mother's womb, exactly the same, I could never forget that feeling, the magical heartbeat of my own son, a Sunstrider. This is a miracle! Oh, miracle of miracles…" he kissed his son's forehead, drew him even closer. "And he knows that it's me… that I'm his father. Oh, son, I love you. How could I have ever doubted you… by the Sun! I'm such a fool, I'm so unworthy…"

The Sunfury soldiers weren't ordered to let Lady Liadrin, Daphne, and Tempest go. But knowing what they did now, it was impossible to continue treating them harshly.

Pyorin, Sunthraze, and Fennore looked on, stunned.

"I can touch the sword daddy." Belorim started to say.

"You don't have to Belorim, you are my son and I will love you regardless. You don't need to prove it to me."

But Belorim reached across the floor and put a tiny baby finger on the hilt of the Whiteblade anyway.

"The Lady showed me. I can do it!" he smiled up at his father. "See?"

The elaborate sword, Belorim's birthright began to glow a steady white. Kael'thas ached when he saw it. Everyone else recognized it too. The spell meant perhaps more to the people here in Tempest Keep than those Blood Elves in Silvermoon. They had seen Saturna use it many times before to save their lives, to save the life of their Prince. And now, three years later, the son.

"I see. Belorim, I see and I believe." Kael'thas rubbed Belorim's little back in circles and then hugged him again.

Everyone in the room looked up at Lady Liadrin, Tempest the Raven, and Daphne the Weaver as if they were seeing them for the first time.


	4. A deal with the devil and a succubus

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Three: A deal with the devil… and a succubus.**

Kael'thas looked up from where he sat on the floor. There was that handsome smile at last.

"Welcome home, Belorim."

"Can I have a birdy?!" he squealed.

Kael'thas did not understand Belorim at first. "He's… already asking me for things?"

Lady Liadrin smiled. "He means a dragonhawk. He saw some of your soldiers patrolling with them on the way in. I explained that they were trained animals used for fighting, that it might be too dangerous…"

"What does this do!" Belorim hopped up and ran to the sliding doors next.

Kael'thas watched, as charmed by his son as Belorim was mesmerized by the magical doors. Belorim poked at the red stained glass panels, giggled when they receded immediately at his touch, then again… at last Belorim tried to bang on the glass.

Daphne ran over and got a hold of his hand. Kael'thas joined her. Their eyes met and he flinched, suddenly embarrassed for his behavior moments earlier.

"I hope you… didn't take that personally…" he started to say. Belorim broke away from Daphne then, ran through the doors when they opened automatically and went screaming down the hallway.

"What's dat! What's dat! What's dat!" He wasn't asking so much as getting over-stimulated at an alarming rate.

Kael'thas wasn't sure what to do at first, but Lady Liadrin urged him with panicked hand gestures and he sprinted after his son.

"Belorim! Um… son, where are you going?" then more agitated, "Come back before you hurt yourself!"

After that fiasco, Chief Advisor Sorn wisely offered to give Belorim an official tour of Tempest Keep, his new home. There were several levels to the ship which caused Sorn to turn something beautiful and exciting into a boring lecture.

At one point, Belorim got annoyed and blurt out, "You're old!" this was meant for Advisor Sorn.

He sighed. "Emasculating me already, I see. Yes, you are the son of Kael'thas indeed."

Kael'thas would have gone on and on with his three-year-old newfound family forever if Lady Liadrin hadn't hinted that there was something even more important about Belorim she needed to speak with him about. It was the sort of thing a child shouldn't hear. That at the least was obvious to Kael'thas. Reluctantly, after they were only an hour into the tour, he put his son back down.

Belorim really didn't like it, and started screaming when Tempest tried to take him instead. Kael'thas winced at this, but Lady Liadrin instructed Tempest to be firm and pick the boy up instead if he wouldn't walk. Belorim cried and cried for his father, and as predicted, tried to go limp in Tempest's arms and dragged himself on the ground.

Once they were far enough away, Kael'thas smiled deviously and said, "I'm going to spoil him rotten."

Lady Liadrin laughed, delighted. "And that of course, is your right. As his father."

"Are you sure that whatever it is can't wait? I just want to go to him, he's been through enough already."

She took hold of Kael'thas' arm. "I don't want to tell you this, in this way. But it has got to be right now. It would be cruel of me to keep it from you, just as fate was cruel to keep you and Belorim apart, like taking Saturna away from you twice." Lady Liadrin began to tear up. "But it is because I loved Saturna so much… that I risked my career, my life, everything, to bring Belorim to you. I know this is what she would want. And I also want you to treasure every moment you have with him because—"

_She is lying to you Kael'thas. _Illidan spoke in Kael'thas' mind. _That is not your son._

Kael'thas stopped smiling instantly. He got that look on his face again, like he was listening to something only he could hear.

"Illidan… no. Oh… damn me! Why did I have to come out here, to this wasteland? The day I trusted Illidan…" he snapped his mouth shut. "Illidan knows about Belorim by now Lady Liadrin" He looked to her, panicked. "Bringing Belorim here was a mistake, though I'm so grateful to you. He's in danger… I can't protect him from Illidan, I couldn't protect Saturna." He sank to the floor. "No… not again! I just found him, I just found my son, our son. Lady Liadrin, you have to take him back now!"

She knelt beside him on the floor. The gentle hum of Tempest Keep became apparent again. Here and there, a Sunfury soldier or scientist tread carefully past, not wanting to disturb their Prince when he looked to be in such a dangerous mood.

"Kael'thas… are you telling me that Illidan, Illidan Stormrage murdered Saturna?"

Kael'thas couldn't look at her.

"Answer me! Whatever pain he caused you, I can assure you I suffered as well. I loved Saturna like my own daughter… I deserve to know the truth at long last, no matter the consequences."

"It was me."

The world went cold. Lady Liadrin sat back on her heels. "I don't think… that I heard you right."

Kael'thas looked her in the eye. "I killed Saturna."

Liadrin covered her mouth. "No… but you loved her." she couldn't get out the rest.

"That is the burden I've been living with all these years, why I haven't been able to move on, why I've been so angry and drove people away. It was my fault that she died. Maybe that is another reason you should take Belorim away. If knowing that helps you to separate us again…"

Liadrin became angry. "What do you mean, exactly! Tell me everything. How are you responsible?"

Kael'thas became conscious of where they were then, and started to whisper. "She… she slept with Illidan and I got angry—"

"Don't you _dare_ blame this on her!"

"I know, I'm not trying to… but that's how it all started. She was pregnant with Belorim and we should have been happy but we weren't. We were afraid of what Illidan might do if he found out, if he got jealous…"

"Why would Illidan be jealous of that? Did he love Saturna too?"

Kael'thas sneered. "No, but the opposite. He hated Saturna. And he… it's a lot to explain but he wants me for himself. Illidan is mad, he thinks that I am his real brother and not Malfurion. This makes him obsessed with me, and Belorim was—and is still—a very good reason for me to leave Outland forever and return home. And then Pyorin and the others…" Kael'thas stifled what he was about to say.

"Do my Bloodknights have a part in this too? Tell me!"

Kael'thas swallowed. "Saturna… was afraid that they would find out. She didn't want to fight with them."

Lady Liadrin recalled the conflict with the 'consensus or die' policy of the Blood Nexus from last night. There was no way… that sort of fear ended Saturna's life? Now she felt responsible as well.

"But then everyone found out." Kael'thas stared into nothingness. "Lady Vashj wanted my position as Second Commander beside Illidan so she blew the entire thing out of proportion, made Illidan feel like he was losing me for good, even though I never said anything like that. And so they conspired together to punish me for trying to leave and then also get rid of Saturna—whom Lady Vashj despised too—all at once. Illidan tricked me into leaving the Black Temple, we were all stationed there at the time. Illidan got me to leave Saturna's side for one day, just one. That was all it took for him to seduce her and turn her against me. But it was _my _fault. There was so much I should have told her, about my… addiction to Illidan's Demon magic, and the way he lies and manipulates others deftly. She had no idea what he was doing to her, until it was too late."

"You talk like you still admire him—"

"After he slept with her, Illidan twisted Saturna's mind and her heart, so that she would kill me. They wanted to put these stitches on my neck, but someone had to kill me first before they could do it… Saturna was the only one able to get so close to me. The only one I trusted. That was the whole point. And then to cover the evidence, Illidan lied and told everyone at the Black Temple that it was Saturna's idea in the first place, that she was some assassin sent from Silvermoon. That she never loved me."

Kael'thas bowed his head. "But despite absolutely everyone turning against her, telling her that she was wrong for loving me, a monster, Saturna did her best to save me from Illidan's collar. After Illidan killed her, she used Fennore's Inverted Shield spell to resurrect herself. She healed me and we fled to Shatthrath City to seek sanctuary with A'dal and the Scryers who defected from my army two years before. It didn't work. Illidan ambushed us at the gates. I found out later that Illidan also… carved some horrid thing into Saturna's corpse so that she could never be resurrected. All of that to spite me. And he succeeded because I wasn't there to protect her that one night when he got into her head and tortured her. I was here at Tempest Keep… doing stupid things."

Lady Liadrin sat next to Kael'thas against the wall and leaned her head back. "Kael'thas… dearest, there is a difference between being the cause of someone's misfortune and killing them."

"But if only I hadn't—"

"Yes it's horrible to live with, but did you know Illidan would do such a thing? You had no idea. That was how he was able to fool you in the first place, because you trusted him. But that is so different from picking up the sword yourself and running it through… At no point did you raise you hand against Saturna. For a moment there you had me thinking… I'm so glad that you loved her until the end Kael'thas, and it sounds like that is exactly what you tried to do. Yes, you made a horrible mistake, but Illidan is really the one to blame."

_She is lying to you Kael'thas._

Kael'thas shook his head. He didn't want to listen to Illidan now.

Lady Liadrin pressed. "Had it also ever occurred to you… if Illidan's power of suggestion is as strong as you say, that over the years he used this guilt against you?" she winced, "You _do_ see how three years later you believe you shared the blame for Saturna's murder, but back in Silvermoon you'd buried her, you tried make peace with it. Just a little while ago in your office you told us that you had, that you'd found strength in that act."

Kael'thas lifted his head. "Of course…"

_He is not your son._

As always, Illidan was baiting him. Kael'thas refused to respond and only end up being manipulated by a mad Demon Lord.

"Lady Liadrin… I am grateful that you brought Belorim to me, showed me that he's alive and well, and that you've freed me of this guilt. But it doesn't change the fact that Belorim is not safe here. Not as long as I have this collar—which I've tried to but can't get off—and not as long as Illidan enjoys being my brother and terrorizing me. He hasn't got any patience for me loving someone else." Kael'thas squeezed his eyes shut and corrected, "…loving Belorim. Ugh, do you see how twisted this thing is, serving a mad Demon Lord? I don't want Belorim around that. I am so angry at Illidan, but I can't do anything about it, when he's listening to my very thoughts!"

"No! Kael'thas, I can't take Belorim back without you. You see how upset it makes him. He loves you Kael'thas, he needs you. Your people need you. Just… return to Silvermoon with us. My Bloodknights can protect both of you."

"Saturna promised me the same thing, and in the end it didn't matter. Besides, I wanted to go back three years ago when I buried Saturna. I even promised the people, did you think I forgot that? No, I never forgot how I promised them so many things… but Illidan swore to destroy the city and everyone in it if I ever did, like Arthas all over again. And Illidan has become a full Demon Lord. He can do whatever he wants. I'm a learned warlock—perhaps the most powerful one there is—and he made me into _his_ slave, I should know." Kael'thas sat dejected for a moment then came to some kind of conclusion. He got to his feet. "Moreover, Illidan can hear everything, because of this damned collar he put around my neck. He could be coming right now. I'll conjure the portal myself and explain everything to Belorim—"

"Belorim is dying, Kael'thas."

He stared blankly at her.

"It's a side effect of the way he was brought back. It isn't natural to grow as a baby inside of a sword. Especially the Corrupted Ashbringer… Or at least that's what the Whiteblade once was. But whatever did it, Belorim certainly doesn't have much time left."

"Is he sick? I'll find the best healer, I'll scour the ends of Outland and beyond—"

"You're not listening to me. Kael'thas, you're like your father. Stop panicking, calm down… think about what's going on here, it actually makes a lot of sense. Belorim, he really isn't supposed to exist. He needed a lot of help to come into this world. Maybe his life, the one he was given by my sorcerer, is really only a superficial one. That was the best they were able to do for him. I could take Belorim back to Silvermoon, but I don't know how much time he has. And without you, he could really get upset, undo himself. He could really _hurt _himself, Kael'thas. I think that you and he deserve to be together, as father and son for as long as possible, no matter who disagrees. I will pledge all of my Bloodknights to fight and protect you from—"

Kael'thas reached over and covered her mouth with his hand. "Please... never speak against Lord Illidan in my presence. This collar he and Lady Vashj put around my neck is like a scrying orb, through which he can hear everything." He let his hand drop and glanced hopelessly at the glass ceiling. "But this is clearly the only way. I think that I can… I _must _deal with Illidan."

"Kael'thas, I still believe you should come back to Silvermoon and I could never lie about that. And honestly, my motivations for offering this help are colored as you already guessed. But nonetheless, I am a Bloodknight first and foremost. I will stay on at Tempest Keep and help you protect Belorim with my Bloodknights, for as long as you need."

"But you can't stay indefinitely."

"I can try."

Kael'thas sat silently moment, heartbroken and numb. "This is what Saturna was afraid of. She did not want her son raised in Tempest Keep."

_I am telling you for the last time, Kael'thas. Belorim is not your son. He is just a weapon they are using against you. They are lying to you, just like Saturna and her Bloodknights lied to you when they arrived at the Black Temple years ago. But still you trust them, still you take them in? You are a fool, Kael'thas Sunstrider._

That Illidan didn't even regard Belorim with that much respect made Kael'thas feel worse. Illidan saw the boy as another amusing plaything, a trifle. That was why Illidan had allowed Saturna and her Bloodknights to stay at his fortress in the first place, because it amused him to see Kael'thas happy.

Kael'thas did not like thinking about that much either, that after everything Illidan still found comfort in seeing him happy. Nor did Kael'thas like realizing that he cared what Illidan felt. This must be what Demon pets suffered, the brilliant warlock realized: to both honor and hate their masters.

"I will help you with everything. I will support you, Kael'thas." Liadrin smiled kindly and reached a hand down to him.

Kael'thas took it and she helped him onto his feet. "I don't have a choice anymore, do I?" he gained confidence. "I can't go home, Illidan is holding me hostage by threatening to destroy my city and my people if I go. But, I'll do whatever it takes. I'm still his warlock, I know all his weaknesses. That's got to count for something."

Illidan's rich mocking laughter carried through the Soul Link then. _Perhaps I put the collar around your neck to make you better, old friend, but you have not changed at all. Still as arrogant as ever, though you are welcome to try. _

Then Illidan's presence in his Kael'thas' mind completely faded. It was like rudely cutting him off. Illidan was gone, for now.

Lady Liadrin asked in the calmest voice she could manage. "So Illidan… he did kill Saturna. And it seems we can't even avenge her death."

Kael'thas rubbed her shoulder. "Yes. I'm so sorry. Trust me, I tried to find justice for Saturna… But the way I am now, with this collar, I can't even hate Illidan for it. He won't let me." Kael'thas looked her dead in the eye. "But you can. You think all those vile things for me, alright? And I… I'll just love my son. I'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe, if this is the best I can do for him."

Belorim was overjoyed to have his father back on the tour. The little boy really thought that his father left him. It was even more painful to part with Belorim a second time for the Black Temple in far away Shadowmoon Valley later that evening. It would be the first time since Saturna's death that Kael'thas would stand before Illidan Stormrage. Kael'thas knew that in order to either effectively intimidate or manipulate his old Demon friend, he would have to do it in person.

Lady Liadrin begged Kael'thas to take more than just an escort of Sunfury soldiers for his protection. She wanted him to take all of his new Bloodknight allies as well. Kael'thas quickly insisted that his healer Fennore would be enough, unless they wanted it to look like a declaration of war for Illidan to respond to just as aggressively.

Even so—and Kael'thas didn't dare share this with Lady Liadrin—the task seemed too terrible with all that help. He silently begged fate for a miracle, then hoped Illidan wouldn't hear and sully the desperate plea of a lost soul.

_Much later, at the Black Temple…_

Kael'thas was ordered to leave his guards behind before going into the Blackened Shrine where Illidan resided. The clever Blood Elf Prince had expected this and was able to bargain down to at least his healer with the Demon guards at Illidan's doors. Fennore and Kael'thas warily left an entire legion of Sunfury soldiers behind them and walked into the place from which Illidan ruled Outland, where he had killed Saturna three years ago, and where Fennore made the fateful decision on behalf of his friends to side with the Demon Lord in order to live and protect Kael'thas after Saturna's tragic death. That they had both survived another day to face Illidan again was a sign of their strength as Blood Elves, as survivors. Kael'thas told Fennore this as they walked. In turn, Fennore told Kael'thas that he sounded a lot like Grand Magister Rommath, and so what was he doing in Silvermoon that Kael'thas himself could not do? They should just switch places then. It was supposed to be a joke—and it was a bad one—left over from that morning.

"Weren't you a priest once, Fennore? Couldn't you have said any number of things about the Light or my soul to make me feel better?" Kael'thas looked like he wanted to hit the other man, but it was the worst possible place and time for it so he couldn't. Which he also told a now flinching Fennore.

Some feet ahead of them in the dark ruins of the Black Temple, Illidan Stormrage sat dejected in his throne.

The Blackened Shrine was a dingy room with only a stone throne and an old table along the far wall to the left. The table was covered with trophy skulls Illidan collected. They were of various races and sizes, but recently there were many fresh Demon ones. Far on the other side of the room, remnants of some cheerful red piece of furniture were piled together. The Thalassian couch had been a gift from Kael'thas to Illidan years ago, a private joke from one Elf to another… something about Illidan being a Night Elf and having a hopelessly rustic personality where Kael'thas was descended of High Elves and far more refined.

One muscular tattooed arm hung over the edge of the ancient stone armrest. Illidan's other hand barely propped up his head. The powerful Demon Lord looked ready to just give up and lie down at any moment. Kael'thas tried not to be thrown off by his friend's pathetic look though. The strong jaw was tight, the unfocused eyes still somehow pensive. He knew Illidan's sorrow was only for himself.

And that was Illidan Stormrage exactly: selfish, brooding, but brilliant. A tall succubus the color of an searing orange incinerate spell stood very nearby Illidan's lazing right hand. She was known as Mavia the Maneater. Fennore nudged Kael'thas then. Yes, she was one of Illidan's officers, but Fennore believed he had an edge with her because three years ago, she saved his life and then confessed to him that she 'did not want to kill him.' Fennore took this to mean far more than Mavia meant it to.

As Kael'thas walked closer he saw that Illidan was not completely put out. The black clawed finger gently caressed the outside of Mavia's thigh. She didn't look to enjoy it very much, but knew better than to say anything against her Lord. Beside Kael'thas, Fennore the Immortal didn't seem to like it either. He made a small whimpering noise deep inside his throat.

Kael'thas turned on Fennore instantly and the Bloodknight healer quickly apologized for his strangeness.

"Is this all you've got to threaten me with, Illidan? I expected more." Kael'thas did not say hello.

Illidan replied just as easily, pronounced Demon canines splitting a sly smile. "Officer Mavia is my last and most powerful Maneater. She is capable of summoning all my Demon officers from the far reaches of Shadowmoon Valley with half a thought. And she's strong enough to punish them too."

"Though there are far fewer of us than you remember from the last time," Mavia averted her eyes and complained to Kael'thas.

Kael'thas worried that it sounded like a plea of some kind. Illidan grabbed Mavia by the leg now, drew her closer and hissed something in hollow Demonic. This officer that he called Maneater clapped a fist to chest, and once more stared straight ahead after being chastised. Rarely were succubae so pliable. Either she was truly that loyal to Illidan, or Illidan had really become that much more powerful over the years, for a brazen Demon woman who'd certainly seen it all over her hundreds of years of life to give in so fast.

There was an eerie chemistry between Mavia and Illidan that Fennore winced at, but Kael'thas knew better. The Demon Lord of Outland was powerful indeed, for a succubus to have trouble resisting such influence. It had nothing to do with romance however. That Illidan had transformed into a full Demon but was still as handsome as when he was a Night Elf man was unsettling. Had he picked this form? Welcomed horrible power into his pristine body, uncaring that it would eventually destroy his life? Maybe Illidan had always lusted after power like that of the mighty warlock Gul'dan. Kael'thas imagined that Illidan smiled when he consumed Gul'dan's ancient skull so long ago. Craving violence and destruction like some rich desert. Needing evil intensely but innocently, the way a person could crave sex. So good, but yet, sometimes so very unholy…Yes, of course Illidan had. That was the great secret, all that long ago Illidan had chosen glorious oblivion over an honest but meek existence. It was not really for Azeroth or the greater good.

As a warlock, Kael'thas knew—and didn't exactly hate himself for it either—that if given such an opportunity he would have done the same. In fact, thanks to Illidan, he had… they were startlingly alike.

"And as for you, Fennore the Immortal. If you hit on my Maneater today, I will punch a hole through your stomach and rip your spine out for Kael'thas to watch." Illidan snorted dispassionate laughter. "Try healing yourself through that, Bloodknight."

A moment passed during which Kael'thas should have defended Fennore. To Fennore's disappointed look, the Prince said, "Illidan put it well enough. I'm a _warlock _and even I find your Demon fetish repulsive."

"I am a succubus and it angers me also." Mavia bared her teeth at Fennore.

Kael'thas sighed and turned back to Illidan. "I have come to speak with the Demon Lord of Outland about more important matters—"

"Belorim is not your son."

Kael'thas balled his fists in anger. "Do you think that saying it so many times will make it true? And why would I ever trust you Illidan! Not after what you took from me."

Illidan frowned and sank lower into his seat. His onyx hair mussed against a carving of a black dragon that grinned evilly from the high chair-back. Both of the Demon man's great horns cast a strange shadow over his violet face then. Illidan's eyes flashed yellow in that sudden twilight, like a cat.

"Kael'thas. I know that you believe it but… he does not belong to you. Therefore, I cannot allow you to keep him."

"_Allow _me! I'll be damned if I ever let you—"

Illidan snarled then, snapped the fingers of one hand and a vein in Kael'thas' neck tightened. The black green fel runes carved into his flesh burned and bruised his skin. Kael'thas tried to but couldn't say another word.

"How nicely it's healed since I used the collar last. It's been three years Kael'thas." Illidan taunted him. He smiled for the first time. "Three years since you ran away from me, stole my prize away to Silvermoon. Lied!"

"You wanted to keep her body as some kind of sick trophy…" Kael'thas was allowed to respond. He eyed the old table covered with dusty skulls.

Illidan growled low. It almost sounded like fiendish purring. "I was not talking about _her_ Kael'thas. Your body, your mind, your armies, you ingenuity… your loyalty! Have all become very tangible things. I will not lose them again."

Illidan released his hold then. Kael'thas glared at Fennore who was supposed to be protecting him. The Bloodknight of course, was focused on Mavia. Illidan had grabbed hold of her leg with his other hand. The teasing caress had gone aggressive in an instant.

"That isn't fair," Fennore whispered to Kael'thas. "They can't be—"

"Illidan has a harem of beautiful Demon women, Fennore. I'm sure he's not become attached to your Mavia. Now will you keep your head in it! Sometimes I feel like I have to set you on fire to keep your attention, which I'm not so far away from doing right now…"

"But she doesn't even like him. He shouldn't be touching her like that—"

"Nothing's fair Fennore, not with Illidan. Welcome to the club."

"Ungrateful!" Illidan shouted over their muted conversation. "You act as if the death of Saturna Whiteblade has changed you Kael'thas but it has not. You are still selfish and cruel. You care for no one else but yourself, deep inside your black heart. Kael'thas, you look down on me for protecting you from her, doing what any reasonable friend would do. But I _saved_ you. I saved you and she couldn't. If not for me, you'd be chained with a real fel iron manacle around your neck, to Kil'jaeden himself!"

Kael'thas shouted back, "Will you _stop_ speaking as if you were in some competition with Saturna? Do you know how sick that sounds! We are _not_ brothers, Illidan, that is just some mad fantasy of yours. The real Malfurion is down in one of your fetid dungeons, or had you forgotten? Kill him already and be done with it, stop torturing me—"

"You haven't spoken to me in three whole years!" Illidan blurt out.

Kael'thas squinted an eye. "Is that what this is about?" Nearly everything Illidan said was some perversion of the truth. The powerful Demon Lord always spoke in lies, tongues of demonic language to fool his adversaries. It was hard to gauge what he actually meant.

Illidan repeated the man's words in an overblown masculine voice, like a little boy who was only pretending to be an adult. Clearly, this was the way he saw Kael'thas. "You can't give your friend the silent treatment for three _years_!"

"You are not my friend! I think you did quite a few things to disqualify you in that category, Illidan."

"Name one."

Kael'thas opened his mouth in shock. "You fucking… you SLEPT WITH MY FIANCÉ!"

Illidan coolly returned, "She wasn't your fiancé at the time."

"You killed me!"

"Saturna again."

"You _told_ her to kill me. You turned her into an assassin because she was the only person I wouldn't expect to… to decapitate me, and put a collar around my neck! WHY are we even talking about this!"

"No, that was Lady Vashj's idea. And Saturna didn't have to agree to it. _I_ saved you, Kael'thas. That is what I did. And ignoring me through our Soul Link, refusing to come to the Black Temple for anything at all, even if it was an important meeting with Lady Vashj or Akama… When we have so much important business to attend to here in Outland, _you_ are the immature one."

Kael'thas felt he had to sit down. That was when he saw what Illidan had done to the couch he always used.

"You killed my couch?!" he freaked out.

"You gave that thing to me."

"So that I wouldn't have to sit on any of the crappy old chairs you have in this place when I came over… I had that smuggled all the way from Silvermoon. It was my favorite chair! What did that couch ever do to you—"

"My Prince?" Fennore cleared his throat.

Kael'thas stopped himself at last. Illidan had a strange smile on his face. Fighting with him in this way, driving him crazy, _playing_ with him. This was what Illidan wanted.

Illidan wrinkled his nose at Fennore. "Now, you decide to be useful? You're pathetic."

"Do you think this is funny, Illidan?" Kael'thas flared, more serious now than ever. "You're living your dream now, aren't you? Malfurion is locked away in some prison and he hates you. But you've replaced him with me. Now that I'm your 'play' brother, we can fight and argue, and have fun together, right, share toys… Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I didn't say that—"

"I will _not_ share Belorim with you. That is the one thing I refuse to do. This is a life, an innocent life, and you aren't capable of appreciating that. I have a son, Illidan Stormrage. He is _mine_. Not yours by default because you already practically own my soul. Forging a Soul Link with you when I first came to Outland was surely a mistake, _my_ mistake. I will not have Belorim suffer because I gave in, between Lady Vashj's lies, the arcane crystals and your Demon magic, I gave in. But Belorim Sunstrider is my flesh, my blood, my magic… and your head if you dare lay a hand on him!" Illidan was ready to repeat his assertion about Belorim's parentage but Kael'thas spoke over him. "Three years ago, you lied to me about Saturna wanting to kill me, out of hate. I will not stand here and listen to filth that my own son is also an imposter. Everything you've ever told me has been a lie Illidan."

Illidan mocked, "Three years ago you lied to Saturna, about wanting to marry her, out of love. I will not stand here and listen to filth that my own friend actually feels love in his heart for another creature. You mourn and pout but you just want sympathy. How can they hate you for your role in all of it if you appear to be something like a downtrodden widower? And you leave me here in the Black Temple by myself to rot while the whole world feels sorry for you, _accomplice_! Everything that you told Saturna and that you told me and everyone else back then was a lie to cover what you'd been doing with the Legion."

Mavia flinched on hearing it. Fennore looked a lot less surprised.

Illidan shook his head. "Of course… _he_ has become your confessor, a royal confidant. So then your bringing the Demon-lover was not about healing magic. It was about privacy, keeping more secrets. You were afraid of what I might say, weren't you Kael'thas? Do you see how you even hobbled your own efforts to protect your Belorim? Just like with Saturna… you'd rather come with one Bloodknight you can trust to cover your dealings with the Legion than to bring all of them here at once and threaten me. To, at the least, make a sound go at it. No, you really have learned nothing over the years. Especially when you REFUSE TO KEEP MY COUNSEL!"

Kael'thas swiftly changed the uncomfortable subject. "I can see what you are doing. You will not turn my own Bloodknight against me Illidan."

"Enough of this. You two have wasted enough of my time already. Maneater! Undo that Fennore and then summon the others, so we can punish Kael'thas for his insolence once and for all. What's that look, Kael'thas? Did you think I allowed you in here with guard as a kindness? Did you think you still have power over me? No, you are completely at my mercy, and it is not just the collar. I've learned. I've grown."

Illidan stepped down from his throne and Mavia dutifully followed. Kael'thas was too proud to back away, though it really did feel like this was the end. He threatened to call his soldiers, but Illidan made a fist and the collar prevented Kael'thas from finishing his sentence.

"No Kael'thas, my Maneater and I have great entertainment planned. You've come back to the Black Temple at last, and I have not forgotten your treachery. You will pay for going against me and then you are going to stay here whether you like it or not. Mavia and I are going to remind you of your place, brother."

Illidan pointed at startled Fennore and ordered Mavia to kill him. Her reluctance resembled something like a demonic apology, though Demons were rumored not to feel remorse…

"I will not." She tossed her whip onto the ground. The small sound echoed into something much greater in the Blackened Shrine. "Though I greatly dislike him, Fennore has done nothing wrong. Nor has Kael'thas. He is a powerful warlock and even I can respect that. My Lord, are we not all allies? This is not why I came to Outland, and chose to serve you my Lord. If Kael'thas has spawn, then let him raise it—"

"Thanks, Mavia." Kael'thas cringed at how she put it.

"I am not done yet." Mavia stepped courageously forward on little cloven feet and moved Illidan's lustful hand away from her leg. "…I do not deserve this treatment either. I have done nothing but serve you loyally for years, and so have Kael'thas and his minions. But you treat us worse with every season. We've been like this before with the other officers. How many of them did you ask your Maneater to summon and help you 'punish?' I see now that they did not truly deserve punishment. You only wanted to torture them. It is not just your madness my Lord. Ever since the death of Saturna Whiteblade, you lash out, strike from a guilty heart—"

Kael'thas was taken aback. Illidan was shamed by the revelation and lunged at his officer.

Illidan shoved Fennore aside when he tried to intervene and picked Mavia up by her neck. She winced and dug her claws into Illidan's great hand.

Kael'thas helped Fennore up then forced the jealous man to stay back.

Kael'thas said gently, "Illidan. Please just… put her down."

Illidan's rich voice faltered. "She's lying…"

Fennore's anxious swallowing was all the noise made during that tense moment. Kael'thas was a lot less affected. He saw at last that Illidan had a real weakness, one that he could use as leverage…

Mavia didn't have the heart to struggle anymore. Defiant to the last, she craned her neck tempting Illidan to do what he would regret the most. For when she died, his connection to the few remaining Demon officers who respected him, even if it was misguided, would be lost. And that sort of violent end appealed to the despairing succubus. It would be a kind of twisted justice at last…

Kael'thas took a step closer. He knew Illidan very well. Sometimes, it was useful to indulge the Demon man's madness.

"Brother… Illidan, you know that I am your brother." A difficult pause. "I… love you. Don't do this. And… if you do feel guilty, for what you did to Saturna after all these years, I would understand. You must know that. Perhaps then we could make amends, at last? If you put her down, and let me have Belorim to myself in Tempest Keep, I would know that you are really a good man deep down. I might… forgive you for hurting Saturna."

Illidan slowed his breathing. The muscles in his shoulders began to ease…

"Illidan, you need Mavia to remain in power here in Shadowmoon Valley. Don't kill your own officer. That would be… the wrong thing to do. Trust me in this. Spare her life for acting on her feelings. It is the first step. A step I must also take to… forgive you. It _was _what you used to tell me, wasn't it? In your heart, you were only acting on an impulse to protect me." The way he put it, it sounded as if Illidan had no conscience at all, and Kael'thas fully understood this.

Mavia choked, grimaced against the pain. It was awful even for a succubus. At last, Illidan opened his hand and she fell to the floor. Fennore rushed to help her. But Illidan had wanted her to suffer, at least in this way. He raised a heavy claw to strike the Bloodknight…

Kael'thas placed his red gloved hand firmly at the center of Illidan's chest. "No. No, Illidan, that's enough."

This was what Illidan and Kael'thas had come to in Outland. A warlock slave and a Demon man who was no better than an animal, a monster. So many souls at the mercy of this twisted symbiosis.

Kael'thas quickly changed the subject. "Illidan, look at me. Maybe I have no absolute proof that Belorim is mine, brother. But don't you understand how I might need him? The way that… you need me? I think I finally see that now."

The gentle plea threw Illidan off. It appealed to the part of him that was still so Kal'dorei and wounded by thousands of years of hurt: the abandonment by his once love Tyrande and his very own brother Malfurion, the betrayal of so many others including Kael'thas. But if just one of those people was trying to come back to him, to fix things… Perhaps Illidan knew that Kael'thas was not Malfurion or even Tyrande for that matter, but that did not mean he wanted a reprieve from the pain any less.

Illidan took a breath and went back to sit on his throne. He watched Fennore try to help Mavia up. She was proud but kept slipping, though Fennore urged her to take her time and get her breath first. As Illidan thought over Kael'thas' offer, his large demon wings flexed slightly then wilted across his back.

"Take Belroim then Kael'thas. What can I even do… Please just take him."

Kael'thas made a signal to Fennore and turned swiftly to leave. "You gave your word, Illidan. In exchange, we'll… workon our… relationship." That part was really hard to get out. Kael'thas made a face. "Come, we're done here Fennore."

Fennore didn't want to leave Mavia there, but he had to. She gave him a panicked look.

Illidan stood and shouted, "What, you aren't even going to thank me for being so generous! Do you have any idea what I've just given you, Kael'thas?"

At the doors, victorious Kael'thas sneered under his breath, "I will thank you Illidan, when you are dead."

More than likely, Illidan had heard him anyway because of the collar. But Kael'thas sensed it didn't matter now. His Demon friend would believe what he wanted to, or at least take this sliver of possibility and indulge blowing it out of proportion, driving him completely crazy. Going along with Illidan's mad fantasy made Kael'thas feel sick. Maybe it was a horrible lie, agreeing to even pretend to forgive Illidan for destroying the woman he loved. But this was the sacrifice he had to make for Belorim, to protect her son. It was dangerous to continue clinging to the past at this point.

Then, with a pang, Kael'thas realized this might feel like raising two children. Playing with a little monster as well as a big one... He cringed and began to rub his temples, felt a migraine coming on…

Mavia hobbled after them into the ruined great room just beyond the Blackened Shrine. Sunfury soldiers milled about crumbling black columns and deteriorating half statues of Orc warlocks. There were far fewer of Illidan's Demon soldiers now as Mavia insisted. Even his harem women were dwindling. Illidan had practically been consuming them, with Mavia's succubine help. Her fate was surely going to be the same…

"Prince Kael'thas!"

He didn't turn around and Blood Elf soldiers in red plate became agitated at her chasing the Prince. Fennore grabbed Mavia around the waist and swung her around off her feet to make her stop pursuing him.

"Hey there, calm down… I'm sorry but we have to leave. I can tell Kael'thas later that you are grateful to him though, for saving your life." He winced. "I wish… so much that I could do more for you Mavia. But I'm not a powerful Bloodmage like he is. Nor a Prince of Quel'thalas…"

Demons did not feel fear. Just anger, hate, pain… and Mavia was in pain now, from what Illidan had done to her, and what he had still yet to do. She dug her claws into Fennore's plate-covered arm. He winced at the sight of it.

She whispered. "Tell me… does Kael'thas already have a pet succubus?"

Fennore began smiling then. "Well… we never see her, but the guys and I have a theory that he does. He _is_ a warlock when you get right down to it and there is no way Kael'thas got through three whole years without a woman—"

Mavia became infuriated with Fennore then. "Just answer the question, none of your jokes!"

"The answer is yes!" Fennore panicked at the deadly look she gave. "I can assure you that Kael'thas has a pet succubus. I'm not able to prove it, as that would be ungentlemanly, but I do swear it. Why do you ask Mavia? I've never seen you like this…"

Mavia began to breathe rapidly again. She did not want to go back into the Blackened Shrine with Illidan. The Sunfury soldiers were gathered about mages who conjured several portals back to Tempest Keep. Once the Blood Elves were gone—and it could be another three years for all she knew, maybe even more if there was a child involved—Illidan would never let her near Kael'thas again. Not after her damning outburst.

Fennore hugged her. "I love you Mavia. Everything is going to be alright. I'll talk to Kael'thas for you. Maybe I can convince him to do… something. If not, then _I _will. I promise."

A familiar strength weighted Fennore's tone just then. It reminded Mavia of Kael'thas, and her first warlock master over a hundred years ago. She looked up at Fennore curiously. The capacity for wielding Nether magic had always been there but the problem was he never used it. Fennore didn't know how to, he didn't even know what the impulse was and that frustrated him. It was the reason behind everything…

Mavia the Maneater gathered all her strength, told herself that she would like it. Seduction, for once, was going to be a very disturbing experience. The Demon woman made a face and then pulled the Bloodknight down into a passionate kiss.

"Come back. See me again. Soon."

"But Kael'thas might not let me—"

"I will kill you if you don't."

"Oh? Well… then I'm sure I can find some way…" Even though her threat made no sense considering the circumstances. Clearly Fennore saw what he wanted to see in Mavia.

"MAVIA!" Illidan's roar carried through the closed doors to the Blackened Shrine. Fennore hugged her and did not want to let her go, but she did not belong to him. There was nothing he could do for the terrifying Demon woman that he irrationally loved.

"FENNORE!" Kael'thas yelled next. He and only a handful of Sunfury soldiers remained nearby the last disappearing portal back to Tempest Keep.

Reluctantly, Fennore and Mavia parted.

The odd Bloodknight jogged up to Kael'thas smiling. He reasoned that despite everything, he still had a good reason to. "She likes me, did you see that Kael'thas? It's like I've been saying for years. She really likes me!"

Kael'thas raised a blonde eyebrow. "I win my son a safe home today and that's all you can think about?" To further bubbly excited resistance uncharacteristic of a man Fennore's age, Kael'thas turned Fennore gruffly around and shoved him hard through the portal.

Then Kael'thas smiled briefly before passing through the blue light himself. All in all, it had still been a good day. And one had to admit, sometimes Fennore's tangents could be endearing. It reminded Kael'thas of his own exciting moments when he first learned about Nether magic as a boy back in Silvermoon. And now he had a son to teach, to raise however he wanted in Tempest Keep… and thanks to Mavia the Maneater of all people.

"Fennore, you weirdo." He laughed, "What in the hell will you be telling us next?"

_Hello Kael'thas._

_Yes, Illidan? What do you want, I'm about to leave._

A long silence then, _I was just testing it out._

In his mind Kael'thas growled, _Our Soul Link is not a toy, Illidan. Are you smiling about this!_

…_No._


	5. Two Horrible Girls

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Four: Two Horrible Girls**

For a whole week, Kael'thas cancelled his meetings and neglected all his important work so that he could spend all day with his son. Whenever the inevitable Advisor Sorn, or General Blaize, or Bloodknight stopped by for guidance, they were made to wait until Belorim was finished drawing or playing horsey or practicing conjuring fire to be admitted. Father and son ruined the royal office, the living room, all the rooms of Kael'thas' lush apartments together. Guests were alarmed at the mess, but Kael'thas didn't excuse himself or his son. He didn't care. Belorim could have whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it. And, as far as Belorim was concerned, his father wasn't just his hero, he had become his best friend, and favorite toy.

Kael'thas didn't welcome any criticism or advice about it either. For that entire first week, those who could avoid it left the master of Tempest Keep alone to fully enjoy the bouncing, screaming miracle incarnate that was his son Belorim.

That left the Bloodknights to their own devices. It followed that, at dinner one evening the true issue with the Nexite's contention came to a head.

The Mess Deck was several levels above Kael'thas' apartments and the soldier's quarters at the bottom of Tempest Keep. The space inside the dimensional ship was generally cylindrical because the Keep was taller than it was wide, going up for at least fifty stories. Several enchanted platforms worked like elevators and ferried soldiers in swift vertical trips to where they needed to go. While on the quick ride, one could enjoy watching the open air space at the center of the ship that the Blood Elves could really only call The Core. No one knew what it was for, or why all the floors of Tempest Keep were built in stacked rings around it. A while back people got irritated with the yawning void and threw coins and trash there to see it fall. Now there was a tube-like glass barrier preventing that. Many were sad to see their favorite old past time taken away. It was rumored to be Chief Advisor Sorn's idea. So it really didn't surprise anyone when Kael'thas started the whole mess up again afterwards, once more providing his soldiers with a fitting spectacle.

Several orange phoenixes soared and played within the contained glass space. They sang in their magical chiming voices, chased each other in fast fiery streaks that turned white hot, fought together in impressive aerial displays. No one missed having windows to the outside when it felt like real birds carried on inside Tempest Keep. And they went on as if there really was something inside the Core worth getting excited over. It caused most Blood Elves to think of Kael'thas and smile, though his motivations were probably most focused on irritating Sorn when he did it years ago.

"You have to admit, it's better than trash." Sunthraze observed while he, Fennore and Pyorin rode the platform up to the Mess Deck.

"That's not exactly a nice thing to say about our Prince." Pyorin warned, while other Sunfury soldiers on the elevator started to look their way.

"Oh, sorry, I wouldn't want to upset his _Majesty_. Come on, bedhead, you have to admit it's mostly him showing off. It's not wrong what I'm saying—"

"I love Mavia. There, I said it. I am madly in love with a succubus."

That was when the elevator stopped at the Mess Deck. Several soldiers in plain clothes cringed and hurriedly went about their way.

"Fennore." Sunthraze patted him kindly on the back. "You're bringing our little group down, bud. I don't think you should sit with the cool kids tonight." Then Sunthraze and Pyorin walked quickly ahead of him and to the right, where they picked up metal trays and got in line.

"But she helped me to save your lives! And I need to a plan to save her too but you guys won't listen to me…" the elevator started to go back down and Fennore had to jump to avoid getting left behind.

The soldier food at Tempest Keep was a lot better than it had been when the Sunfury army was stuck at the Black Temple playing Illidan's mind games a few years ago. The relief at having moved back 'home' as the Sunfury called it from the shabby Barracks in the West Wing of Illidan's stronghold never really left the soldiers. They rejoiced three years ago when Kael'thas ported directly to the Keep from Silvermoon and ordered General Blaize to withdraw the troops, and in a lot of ways they were still celebrating now. The high standard of food the cooks provided was a small part of this.

"Cookie outdid himself this time." Pyorin savored the last bite of his chocolate cake after dinner was done. White confectioner's sugar had been sprinkled over every slice, and then on top of that, ripe raspberries, both blue and red dripped syrupy sweet juice down into the chocolate sauce.

"Yep. Oh baby… there is something very wrong about how good this is though guys. I think I want to take it home and marry it."

Pyorin rolled his eyes. "That's worse than what I was expecting from you, Sunthraze the _Sly_. So you're going to marry cake. That's your joke?"

Sunthraze looked away, as if it weren't important. "I figure that… if he can love a Demon, and you can date an evil spawn of Kil'jaeden himself who probably eats baby Orcs for breakfast, then I can love cake. Really though, between the two of you losers, I'm better off."

Fennore surprised them all and sighed, "He's right."

They all laughed together. With the good meal and everything else, it was such a relief to laugh, especially at one of Sunthraze's jokes. After Saturna died, Sunthraze was mostly hurtful with his humor. He meant a lot more of the mean things he said, especially when it came to Kael'thas… but it seemed easier for everyone to laugh now that Kael'thas was so happy. The Prince's mood affected the whole ship, and the fact that there was a very special little person running around, that everyone was eager to see… That got all the soldiers excited too. Maybe it was also a little sad that none of them had seen children in so long, but people didn't dwell on it. They smiled whenever the little Prince Belorim was mentioned.

"So about Mavia… Beyond saving her, I need to apologize for flirting with Daphne so much the other day. Did you guys see that? Oh, it was awful… I can't believe I cheated on Mavia." Fennore worried. "But then again, if—when—I save her, she'll forgive me. Right?"

"Fennore." Sunthraze got another forkful of cake into his mouth. "Okay, nevermind. I'm happy for you. This cake is too good."

Pyorin grinned at them both. "Oh, and by the way… Speaking of women, I think we'd better get the cockblocking thing out of the way."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Fennore boggled.

Sunthraze snickered. "You're spoken for already, remember? At least that is what you're hoping to tell us one of these days. This doesn't concern you, Demon lover." He leaned across the table. "So Pyorin, you want your old flame back, or what?"

"No, that would be a mess and a half… Tempest and I… hell, I'll just come out and say it. She's a man trap, Sunthraze, though the sex was amazing. Err… Actually, I was going to say that since I'm in charge now, I won't be pursuing either of those women."

"You're joking, right?"

Pyorin shook his head, and turned his coffee mug around idly. "I chose to enforce the rule way back when. I'm not going to go back on Thalassian military tradition now either. Ranger's honor." He clapped a fist to his chest.

"I still can't believe you used to serve in the Thalassian army before becoming a Bloodknight." Fennore said. "I mean to say, I knew that you were an ex-Ranger, but it didn't mean anything to me really until we all met your old army buddy Tempest. And Daphne was a Ranger too, as well right?"

"She joined towards the end of the war, I never really met Daphne. Wish I had though." Pyorin sneaked in at the end before he took a sip of coffee.

"Not so fast…" Sunthraze waggled a finger at him. "All rights to the new girls have been handed over to me, you just said so."

"So I did." Pyorin shrugged with his big shoulders.

"Not that I'm… well, I won't say any more that I can't get myself out of with Mavia. But it seems you like Daphne? I thought you'd be focused on Tempest?" Fennore wanted to know.

Pyorin tried to say it wasn't a big deal, but then he started to go into how sweet Daphne seemed, how down-to-earth, and he loved that she didn't wear any jewelry or make up besides that innocent gold locket she always had around her neck. "I bet there's a great story behind that too. Now that's a really nice girl, funny, smart, straightforward. No hassle."

"I thought you were a ladies' man Pyorin?" Sunthraze challenged. "You tomcat around enough that you have regulars among the Sunfury soldiers. Now you're telling me that you are attracted to a wifey-type. That's strange."

"Not really, Sunthraze. I don't date because that causes drama, and when you're in a military situation you can't have drama with the few women available. It ruins everything. So, I don't go chasing after people, especially if they are a different rank than I am. I let the available ones come to me so there's no confusion. I'm clear about my intentions from the beginning. I don't fall in love, and I don't spend time with people who fall in love with me. Just lots of casual sex. Nothing better than that."

"Except for Daphne." Fennore teased.

"She's really just a woman I find attractive Fennore. Don't make more about it than it is."

Tempest and Daphne still didn't know anyone in the Keep well yet, besides the eight other Bloodknights they traveled with. The Bloodknights knew their lieutenants well and wisely kept to themselves, or hovered around Lady Liadrin most of the time. On the other side of the issue, as Nexites Tempest and Daphne longed to forge some space from the woman who was their undisputed Matriarch in two intense ways. For all the ladies' bickering—and they were doing it now as they came over with their dinner trays—it became clear to the guys over the last few days that Tempest and Daphne were actually good friends. They liked hanging out together, but the three other Nexites had no clue that the ladies' isolation was sort of enforced for a good reason.

"Oh god, here she comes." Sunthraze griped. "Fennore, move over so she can't sit down."

"No! I like where I'm sitting."

"Look you, just take the damned seat, I hate that woman. 'You can call me Tempest, but you can't call me Raven. Or, you can call me Tempestraven. What _is_ her deal anyway?"

"Hey there, short stuff." Tempest set her tray of food right down between Fennore and Sunthraze at the long table. Pyorin sat on the other side. The simply decorated dining hall was loud with many soldiers eating and joking together at the same time.

"I am not short."

"Yes you are, short stuff." Tempest reached over into Daphne's plate and snatched up a roll.

"You don't care that she's eating your food, Daphs?"

"Have a nickname for her already, do you, Ow!" Pyorin kicked Sunthraze under the table.

Daphne settled in at the lone free seat next to Pyorin and across from the others. "Nope. There wasn't enough room on her plate, so I let Tempest use mine. Plus she's a big girl, you see how tall she is, though I don't see how she stays so skinny." She pretended to whisper to Pyorin, "She has to keep up her strength."

"I do not. You, on the other hand, should eat less, with those child-bearing hips of yours… not that you'd be bearing any children soon."

Daphne frowned and looked down at herself, only to meet Pyorin's eyes. He cleared his throat and focused again on his coffee.

"Whore."

"Virgin." Tempest smiled and started to eat her dinner. "Mmm… soo good. You all sure know how to live."

"Two questions." Fennore sat up straight. "First, are we still trying to kill each other?"

"Nope. Kael'thas got his son back, and I don't see any of you raping and pillaging harmless Outlanders, so we're on the same side again." Tempest said with her mouth full. "Hey, do any of you guys have a cigarette? The Lady keeps swiping mine."

"You shouldn't smoke, and didn't you just start eating?" Daphne said. The two women were inclined to chatter randomly, and it often ended with offensive name calling they both seemed to enjoy.

Fennore fought to get back into the conversation after the ladies finished going off on a second tangent. "Okay, that enticing back and forth just now leads me to my next question. Why do you call each other those names?"

Daphne glanced at Tempest and put down her fork. "Cause it's true. Tempest sleeps around."

"Meh." She said. "I like sex, what's the big deal? I'm not easy or anything like that, and I don't go with any Tom, Dick, or Harry… but if a woman likes sex, no one should hold it against her, is the way I see it." She kept talking with her mouth full. "Now that one over there," she pointed at Daphne with her fork, "She's a bonafide virgin. Never got past second base and keeps it that way. Breaks all kinds of hearts in the process."

"The slut is right." Daphne tried to play it off, but she blushed a little.

After a pause, Pyorin worked up the nerve to ask—on behalf of his friends, he told himself, "May I ask why?"

"She's waiting for Mister Right." Tempest answered for her. "Now, I'm more of a Mister Right now type of gal. Which reminds me, Pyorin…" she raised an eyebrow. "Like I was saying the other day… I really haven't seen you in a while, and I like your new haircut."

Sunthraze and Fennore started laughing.

"Alright. Thanks Tempest."

"So… you know," she kept going. "When can I come over?"

He finished his coffee. "You can't. I'm your superior officer now."

Tempest set down her fork and her knife. "Oh, not this again! We're not Rangers anymore… nothing's going to happen if we just… mess around. I worked my ass off to ascend a whole rank for you last time, and now that we're Bloodknights, you're doing this to me again? You know what, I'm starting to believe what all the other Rangers were teasing me about… that you left the army to go to Undermine and then became a Bloodknight just to get away from me. Grrr… Now, I can't ascend any more rank to be with you. If I become Mother Tempest, you'd have to be dead first, and I'm _not_ sleeping with a corpse."

There was an uncomfortable silence during which it became clear to everyone that Pyorin had suddenly clung to tradition for that very reason. He also seemed to become conscious of Daphne staring at him curiously. "Um… Can we have this conversation some other time?"

Sunthraze cleared his throat. "I also have a nice haircut, and I just met you, Lucia."

"Tempest."

"Whatever. And I'm free after dinner."

"I wasn't talking to you." She coldly answered. Tempest was a bit more quiet after Pyorin's rejection.

"Not to harp on this but," he turned to Daphne, "Are you really saving yourself? I didn't think anyone did that anymore."

Daphne stopped eating. "My boyfriend gave me this necklace… we were really close. Matt… he was perfect for me, my soul mate." She played with her napkin, "He died in the war, when Arthas came. He was supposed to be my first. After that… well, I can't help people making fun of me about it, but it never felt right again after that." She forced a smile, and tried to keep eating.

Pyorin felt horrible. "I'm…so damned sorry I asked you that, Daphne. Wow… I'm so sorry I made a big deal out of it. You must think I'm a jerk."

Fennore and Sunthraze raised eyebrows at Pyorin's panicked rambling. He never did that before.

"It's okay." Daphne said, though it clearly wasn't. "I get it all the time."

Pyorin winced.

"Is Kael'thas seeing anyone?" Tempest suddenly asked.

All three of the guys cringed.

"What? I'm good enough for the Prince of Quel'thalas. But, more importantly, I'm probably the only one at this table who is even close to his _height_."

"We've been through all this before." Sunthraze sighed. "You'll go chasing after him, he'll reject you because he's complex and conflicted. Of course that will only get you more excited. Then, even after you start dating his General instead, you'll still want him. Then he'll either set himself or his room on fire, kidnap you to Nagrand, and finally, someone is going to get beat up or peed on."

Tempest just stared at Sunthraze.

"I'm a little sleepy right now, so I think I got some of that out of order. But we already did this with Saturna. And we don't share a room anymore, so we can't offer a pity party service either."

"I… honestly I just want to screw him. I'm curious."

Fennore gasped. Pyorin rolled his eyes. Sunthraze went from disturbed to enticed in moments.

"You have the dirtiest mouth, Lucia." Sunthraze grinned at her.

"Not for you, dear." She flashed him a little smile. Sunthraze hated how it took him a moment to realize that her enticing tone and words didn't match. "Also, you should make up your mind about whether you hate me or not. All that indecision… it isn't cute."

Sunthraze looked irritated for a moment, but he couldn't keep it up and eased into a smile. "Everyone, I'm going to bed… it's the third door on the right, Tempest. And in case you like to get drunk first," he eyed how much wine she was drinking, "Your other right."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Seriously though," she kept talking to everyone else after Sunthraze left. "Is Kael'thas single?"

"He has a child, Tempest. And he's mourning the loss of Saturna, even after all these years. That's got to be crossing a line."

"No it isn't, Daphne. Even paternal sorts of people need a good shagging now and then. And all those statues in Silvermoon don't do Prince Kael'thas justice. He's hot. All that passion he showed a few days ago… sure it was scary but it was also… He yelled at me. Prince Kael'thas actually yelled at me and I think I liked it. No, I _know_ that I liked it. Mmm, I think I want him to do it again. Now, Daphne, you can't honestly tell me that none of what he said got to you." She smiled wickedly.

Pyorin tried very hard not look interested in hearing Daphne's answer. She said, "That's a really perverted observation but… well… yes, Kael'thas is gorgeous. Too blonde for me though."

"That's odd. You _are_ blonde." Flaxen haired Fennore observed. He was almost lying with his head down on the table. He was getting tired too after the good meal but didn't seem to realize it yet.

"I don't know… it's weird on a man, so much of it like he's got? It'd take me a while to get used to it. Now dark hair," She'd finished eating a little while ago and reached up to run fingers through Pyorin's short hair. "I like this color." She smiled at him. Pyorin gripped his coffee mug suddenly though there was nothing in it. He leaned into her touch.

Tempest saw it and stopped eating.

Pyorin gave a little happy sigh. "You smell like peppermint."

Fennore perked up, then burst into outrageous laughter.

Pyorin was so embarrassed he excused himself from the table, saying he had to be somewhere.

"Did I do something wrong?" Daphne kept asking over and over again. Fennore was useless in his current state, and Tempest had suddenly lost her appetite. She said as much and left her friend alone with the other healer.

"Fennore… I like you, you're funny."

"You do?"

"Yep. How old are you anyway?"

"Does it really matter? I never act my age, I'm so used to Pyorin and Sunthraze… Fine, I'll tell you. Sunthraze is in his early twenties… I'm in the next generation."

"By how much?"

"Twenty years or so."

Daphne giggled. "Why did you make it sound like it wasn't so much…? Well, I still think you're cute."

"Why thank you Sister Weaver. Too bad my Mavia doesn't think so."

"Who's she? Are you two dating?"

"Um… I'm trying to convince her. It's hard because… Well, because she's a Demon. A succubus actually."

Daphne was laughing for a good while before she realized Fennore was serious. "Oh… Good luck with that. I'd better go make sure Tempest is okay." She rushed off.

Fennore was left sitting at the table by himself. "Daphne…? Ugh, I'm getting too old for this. No, I am not old. They are too young." He gave up with a sigh, and just settled down to sleep alone at the table.

General Nathaniel Blaize waved to his adoring soldiers when he strode through the Mess Deck with dinner. Salutes came from everywhere, invitations to share his company, his wit came at him from every turn. But Blaize was looking for some specific company tonight.

He slammed his metal tray down in front of Fennore, who startled and woke up.

"So sorry, Fennore. I didn't mean to wake you of course. In fact, I didn't even see you there."

Fennore squinted up at General Blaize. "What do _you_ want? I thought Lady Liadrin was your new plaything."

"Now, why would you think that?" Blaize shook out his white cloth napkin carefully tucked it over his finely tailored dark shirt. Unlike in the Black Temple, the Sunfury soldiers could fully disarm inside of Tempest Keep and relax. It wasn't constantly under siege. "The Lady and I are just old friends that's all." He chuckled.

Fennore slumped back in his chair and yawned.

"Wine? I brought a bottle over."

"No, my tongue is loose enough as it is and you can see that already. Excuse me, I'd better turn in—"

"Immediately after dinner?" General Blaize scratched his cleft chin and laughed. "That's not good for your health, you'll gain weight that way." He flashed another handsome smile.

"I'm not the one worried about my weight."

Blaize glared at him briefly. "I won't dignify that insistent running joke you and your idiotic friends have with an answer. Ahem. I _wanted_ to meet Lady Liadrin's other lieutenants, though. It's only natural. What are their names again… the tank was Tempest-something… and Daphne Weaver? Is that it?"

Fennore just stared at General Blaize.

"They look very young. How old are they exactly?"

More silence from Fennore.

"Surely they have family back in Silvermoon… I wonder when they'll be returning home for a visit?"

"Do you see how I'm letting you tell on yourself?" Fennore raised a blonde eyebrow.

"I'm just making polite conversation—"

"Stop preying on innocent young Bloodknights. What's wrong with you anyway, do you have a fetish?"

Blaize lowered his eyes and began to cut his steak with a knife. "I don't spend my entire day trying to think up reasons for Prince Kael'thas to send me over to the Black Temple to get into a succubus' pants. No, I'm not like you Fennore the Immortal, not at all. For one thing, I'm a lot closer to surviving this military campaign than you are."

Fennore shook his head in disbelief. "Of course. Why hadn't I seen this before? Kael'thas' own General has no faith in what we're doing out here. You think this whole expedition to Outland is a failure, don't you? Sure other people do, but coming from you? So many people look up to you Blaize!"

"I can neither confirm nor deny your assumptions regarding said comment."

Fennore got angry. "You expect me to believe that you're just looking for another nice woman to court?" He groaned and lay his head back down. "Spare me."

Blaize gathered up his tray and got up from the table. "You're in luck, Fennore. I'll do you one better than that. Have a good evening."

Fennore looked up and wondered why Blaize was running away all of a sudden.

Lady Liadrin sat down next to him, accompanied by eight other Bloodknights. "Good Evening Bloodknight Fennore." She smiled. "Where did Nate go off to? I was hoping we'd all have dinner together."

Fennore sat up. "Evening," he greeted everyone. "Honestly, I don't know. But I think he ran from you, in his own way. Lady Liadrin… this isn't exactly polite conversation, but considering what happened to Saturna, I think I ought to warn you as soon as possible."

"About what, dear? Oh, I shouldn't call you that, should I? I'm so used to talking to young Bloodknights like Daphne and Sunthraze or Pyorin whose in his thirties like Tempest. But you and I are in the same generation I think, with Nate."

Her Bloodknights had begun to chat amongst themselves and enjoy their own dinners.

"Lady Liadrin, I'm sorry but there's no nice way to put this. General Blaize is a good military leader but also a soulless, womanizing prick. I can see that you have some history with him… I wouldn't get involved again if I were you."

Lady Liadrin smiled. "I know all about Nathaniel Blaize." She whispered. "We were engaged once."

"What! You were?"

"I and a lot of other women at Court. Let's just say, I'm hoping to settle things between us, once and for all. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anymore." Then, she changed the subject. "Where are Daphne and the others? We all need to meet soon, you know."

Fennore yawned and rubbed his neck. "Playing musical beds, most likely."

"Ugh," Lady Liadrin glanced up at the ceiling momentarily. "I need to speak to Kael'thas then. Unlike the two of us, who have backgrounds as priests, it seems those four need little more than an idle moment to get into trouble. I'm not sure what the Prince has you all doing, but my men need structure while they're here. Especially Tempest, though, given enough time Daphne can inspire her own sorts of disasters. We are _not_ on vacation, not here of all places."

"Oh, well as for me, I've become Kael'thas' confessor, I guess. I couldn't escape being a priest afterall."

Lady Liadrin shifted uncomfortably. "Yes… I was King Anasterian's confessor, back when I was a priestess."

"I think I remember hearing about that."

"Yes, and forget what you heard back in Silvermoon, Fennore the Immortal. After what I experienced, my advice to you is thus: Just be careful with Kael'thas. Don't get too involved in his affairs… he needs you, but then again, he doesn't. Do you understand me?"

Fennore admitted that he didn't.

"Nevermind it then. I'm proud of you, Brother Immortal. You've come a very long way. When you do see the others eventually, let them know that we Nexites are going to meet very soon, right after I speak with Kael'thas about our little… situation here in Outland."

"Blaize was married Saturna, did you know that? I know we got off the topic a while ago, but you were very close to her. I felt you should know that, at least."

"Well yes, I assumed as much. As I said, Nathaniel Blaize was married to a lot of people."

"Was he? I thought you said he was only engaged?"

"Don't be silly, Fennore. Engagements don't get you into other people's bank accounts, titles to land, or on their wills to gain an inheritance. Of course there were some weddings along the way, all conveniently annulled to avoid real permanent scandal of course. But don't worry about me. Never worry about the Bloodknight Matriarch."

"Oh, which reminds me! I need to get Mavia out of a fix with another man as well. Do you have any idea how I might be able to—"

"Who's Mavia?"

Fennore opened his mouth to explain but saw the same prudent expectation in Liadrin's features as had been in Daphne's face. And then, there was also the 'ex-priests like us' comment…

"Oh. Well, Nevermind. I guess I'm just stuck figuring this out on my own." he looked very angry about it.

Lady Liadrin had sort of a sixth sense about these things. It came from many years of listening to someone else's romantic problems at the grandest scale of risk and ruin known to man. A kingdom had fallen because of it. Well, she wasn't going to go poking her nose into other people's drama again, not this time.

"Good luck with that, Bloodknight." She coolly intoned and went back to her dinner.

_Meanwhile, Pyorin and the others were in fact playing musical beds…_

Pyorin had found Daphne and was walking her back to the room she shared with Tempest.

She cleared her throat. "So… how did you know Tempest wouldn't be home?"

Pyorin grinned pleasantly. "I know that look she had in her eyes… I won't be sleeping in my room tonight, that's for sure. Of course, it would have been nice of me to warn the other guys, but Sunthraze got onto this thing about my hair recently. I think I owe him one."

"Why, what's he call you?"

"Bedhead." Pyorin cringed as soon as he said it.

"Hehe… If you ask anything fast enough, you can trick someone into telling the truth." She smiled sweetly at him. "Got ya."

Pyorin knew for a fact that it wasn't her little game that was tripping him up.

"So what are you up to tonight—"

"Me or Tempest?"

"Tempest." Pyorin smacked his forehead. "Sorry! It's not that, it's just that I don't know you so well…"

Finally they reached her door. Daphne leaned on it. She had the prettiest smile…

"The way you smile…"

Daphne winked at him. "Careful now, commanding officer o'mine."

"Ah… yes, that. So then, I guess this is… good night?"

Daphne tucked a long honey warm tress back behind her ear.

"Pyorin, you're used to getting lots of girls, aren't you?"

He choked on this.

"I can tell. Walking me to my door and all… but we aren't on a date, right? Not when Tempest likes you so much."

Pyorin reached an arm up over her head and leaned on the door sill. "Well… she really doesn't have to know."

Daphne laughed some more. "You're cute when you're joking around."

"But I wasn't—"

"No, it's okay. It was funny. I noticed that you were a little jumpy all evening… I liked that one though, you know cause Tempest is my best friend and all, you know, kinda like my sister. It's like something that would never happen, so it's a great joke." But it hadn't been really. Daphne was giving him a way out. "Well, night night." She opened her door.

"Wait!" Pyorin fumbled for a while for something else to say that wasn't his usual sneaky charm. "Umm… uhh… Gosh, you smell like peppermint."

Daphne giggled again. She did that a lot, Pyorin was starting to notice. He wished that he could laugh as much as she did. She made it look like so much fun, especially with those perfect lips…

"Pyorin? Don't you want some candy… come in, I like to have it on the bed."

"What!"

Daphne pulled on his arm. "You're so silly…" she bent over, while Pyorin could only helplessly watch her round backside. She'd climbed up to the top bunk and reached over for a little box from under her bed-pillow. "But no, I mean having candy before bed-time. Here, have a versicolor treat. Hey, I just thought of something! Is this going to be your first one, Pyorin?"

Pyorin looked at the plump little disk of red and white candy Daphne raised between them.

"Yeah,"

"Oh, okay… so the trick is to suck on it. Take your time, take it slow… you have to wait to really enjoy it. It will take time to melt."

"Melt?"

"Yep. In your mouth…" she popped one into her mouth and showed him. "Shee? Jusht wub it on your tongue. Like dish." She offered him another one.

Pyorin was overwhelmed. He took Daphne's hand and leaned over, licked her fingers and the candy.

Daphne watched as he savored both the peppermint and her fingers. Pyorin did as he was told. He took his time, he took it slow. He waited for it to melt all over her fingers and then took each one into his mouth and savored those as well.

When Pyorin was done, he saw how stunned Daphne was but didn't apologize. "To be honest, Daphne, that's how much I—"

At that moment a loud mocking voice carried down the hallway. It was Tempest. Without thinking twice, Pyorin ran and dove under the bottom bunk.

"That's_her_ bed!" Daphne warned. Pyorin swore and panicked, then ran around the room but couldn't find another place to hide. The door began to open and he raced to get behind that.

"Daphs!" Tempest entered the room and yelled a little angrily, "You know where Pyorin'sh room ish?"

Her blonde roommate leaned out into the hallway. "Up a level, second on the right…" Tempest yelled her groggy thank you, and the clash of many metal things faded as she made her way back down the hallway. "Or… wait… no Pyorin, you never did tell me where your room was. So, whose was that?"

"So about tonight—"

"You should go, before we get into trouble."

"So you didn't like when I—"

"To be honest with you, Commander Pyorin… you aren't my type. I'm saving myself for someone really special. And you seem to me like a guy who'd rather just have fun with a girl, play games…"

Pyorin started to object, but Daphne wasn't insulting him really. She was being honest. So sweet and honest…

"Oh Daphne—"

"Besides, Tempest likes you and we're really close. I won't cross that line." She blushed, "So… Goodnight, Commander."

When the door closed, Pyorin could only stare at it. There had been the rise in lust as always, the exciting brink… and then rejection. But it hadn't been cold. It was the nicest 'get away from me you freak' he'd ever heard. And it hadn't changed the fact that he wanted her. Pyorin decided that he was going to use everything in his arsenal to seduce Daphne the Virgin.

"Awww… she's so sweet." He smiled and sneaked on back to his room. Thankfully, Tempest was going someplace else entirely…

_Upstairs on the Sunfury Barracks level of Tempest Keep…_

Sunthraze was jolted awake when he heard someone fiddling with his doorknob. At first he thought one of the Sunfury soldiers was stumbling along, drunk from The Rave and forgot where their room was. He lay on his back and listened, eyes drooping, for the person to eventually realize their mistake and drift away…

But then he heard a hacking at his doorframe, the sound matched a hatchet chopping wood exactly. It couldn't have really been, though, could it? He was caught between trying to open his eyes and close them… which reality was the nightmare?

The door pried open, and in the sliver of hallway light, Sunthraze saw that it was a woman who slipped inside his room. There was the clinking of metal as she… put a chain around the doorknob? Who in the world went skulking around in the middle of night, hacking at doorframes with an axe and then chaining the unsuspecting inhabitants inside?

He thought to speak up, or at least go for his weapon, but she was in bed with him faster than he could anticipate in the dark.

"Guess, who Pyorin." Tempest hugged Sunthraze close, heavy weapons, plate and all, against the mattress.

She'd at least managed to take off her gauntlets. Her fingernails pulling at his pants fly was unhappy confirmation of this. The way she manhandled him, Sunthraze feared those nasty rumors about the Horde going around in Silvermoon City a few years back were true, that Orc women were going to come in the night and take away their men…

"I've missed you," she sucked on his earlobe. Sunthraze found himself smiling. "We're all alone, no one will know. Say… Tankalicious…"

_Tankalicious?_Sunthraze wanted to burst out laughing.

"… Do you remember how we used to do? We'd wrestle, and I'd let you win, and then… I'd keep winning over and over again. Then I'd strip you naked,"

She whipped off Sunthraze's pants so fast, he got rugburn and yelped.

Sunthraze squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the woman to notice his voice and commence to 'beating the living snot-piss' out of him again. He still wasn't exactly sure what that meant even though she'd done it already. The persistent mystery of the threat scared him like nothing else.

But when Tempest kissed him, the overpowering smell of wine assured that he wasn't going to have that sort of trouble from the woman he wanted.

Tempest began to take off her clothes. Who came to bed wearing a full set of armor? Sunthraze knew it was coming, he told himself he was a grown man and a Bloodknight at that, so it shouldn't bother him, but Tempest shed so very many loud clanking weapons and pieces of armor so fast, he flinched every time one of the sharp or shiny monstrosities hit the floor.

"What is it about you… after you broke up with me and left the army to become a Bloodknight, you were all I could think about, my first boyfriend."

"Your first!" Sunthraze cleared his throat and tried that again, in a very good if not mocking impression of Pyorin's baritone.

"Well, you didn't know that did you? I wasn't supposed to tell you that, it was so embarrassing… but we hooked up one too many times, didn't we? I got so attached to you, I was heartbroken when you left." Sunthraze could hear the pouting in her voice. "And the worst of it was, you had no idea that you broke up with me, because I was the only one who thought that it was an actual relationship. Ugh… I'm such a hopeless slut, aren't I? I developed feelings for you and of course you didn't see it, not when I was already passionately screwing you six ways from Sunday."

Sunthraze took a deep breath when Tempest finally sat on top of him. He hadn't been ready for her but she didn't care. She left him briefly to use her fingers, her tongue, whatever to get him stiff and in the mood, to get to the sex as fast as possible. The way she touched him, she knew exactly where to press, how soft to blow, how long to tease. Then Tempest flicked her wrist around and grabbed him. It was a playful tug that caused Sunthraze to sit up, but she was only guiding him inside. His eyes adjusted to the darkness in time to see Tempest arch her back in the effort and bite her lip. She opened her mouth in a gasp and ran trembling fingers through her short hair. Never before had Sunthraze observed a woman wanting him so badly. Then that stung. It wasn't really him she wanted…

"Ungh… why do you feel better than I remember?" her sultry voice moaned next.

It was a stupid idea to keep going at this point. Sooner than later, Tempest was going to find out that he wasn't Pyorin and there would most certainly be hell to pay, after what he heard her confess to. Sunthraze knew this, he made himself slow down and think. It was incredibly difficult to do.

"Pyorin? What's wrong?"

"Why do you want me so much… why not the others?"

"Come on… you know. You were there when I needed you, Commander. You saved my life when we went up against the Amani Trolls, and then the Scourge… you're my hero."

Sunthraze huffed. "No chance of that ever happening with _me_," he mumbled.

"What was that?"

"You… are more woman than I ever thought I'd see…" Sunthraze wondered what the hell he meant by that.

"Stop it, you're going to make me feel bad about being so tall." Then she really began to ride him. Her delighted moans made Sunthraze forget himself. He tried many times to take over, to feel like he was actually having her and not the other way around. Tempest, however, was not that sort of lover. She would not let him up. Each and every time they wrestled, she won.

They did not go to sleep immediately after. Sunthraze was happy to be in charge and at least hold her when it was over. She lay her head on his shoulder. He could feel her smile and he loved it.

"Hey, do you still have those stupid Darkmoon Faire cards?"

Sunthraze laughed. "The hell I do. Threw those useless things away."

"Really? You liked them so much. We used to play in Undermine… well, I'd always lose. But that wasn't the point, was it? I'd sit there in my sparkling red dress and smoke, tempt the customers over, forget that I belonged to a Goblin Trade Prince for a day and—"

"A what?"

"Pyorin… Goldenbolts, don't you remember him? Yes, I know I'll never live that down, but it was about his money really. And then he was in the mob with his guards and his hit men… exciting! I should have listened to you, in that handsome suit and black little bow-tie, dealing cards…"

Sunthraze squeezed his eyes shut. It was an effort not to burst out laughing at the mental image of Pyorin working a card table, saying 'Yes sir,' and 'thank you for the tip, ma'am!' and whatever else, wearing a tiny little bow tie and a stupid fake smirk on his face…

"…and Goldenbolts tried to break your thumbs when he found out I was cheating on him with you. I know you don't like to talk about it, but I want to apologize, for dating a Trade Prince and not telling you. Oh, Tankalicious, you make me forget myself." She squeezed Sunthraze tight and his laughter came right out.

Sunthraze felt Tempest tense in his arms.

"Oh no, wait, I can explain… sure I tricked you Tempest but I'm not laughing at _you_—"

She hastily got up from the bed. Sunthraze could hear her getting dressed.

Certain words of wisdom came to mind now, his mother, his friends, and everyone else warning that someday his 'smart mouth would finally get him into trouble…'

After a while, he said, "Lucia wait! I didn't plan this, I just got really lucky when you came in. Look, I promise I won't tell anyone else what you told me, about Pyorin."

"Why would you do that for me? After I was so mean to you… Do you think I'm stupid?" she began to sound upset, which Sunthraze didn't think was possible. He felt awful. "…And I stumbled in here, not as sober as I am now…"

"You kidding me? You're still a bit drunk."

"Stop it, okay! By the Sun, this is the worst thing I've ever done, the_worst_! I can't be here anymore…"

He heard her making for the door.

"I'm sorry." Sunthraze finally got serious. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I had no idea… that you were in love with Pyorin."

She replied in a small voice. "I still am."

Sunthraze couldn't just sit there anymore. He walked over and stretched his arms out, felt for Tempest in the darkness. He nicked himself on something sharp, probably the hunting knife she wore strapped up on her arm. She laughed and found his hands, twined her fingers in his to keep him steady.

"Tempest I have to ask this. How in the world did you end up in a one-sided relationship with Pyorin? The way you made love to me… I could tell right off. Did he really have no idea that you had feelings for him?"

"That's like asking if I knew you were you when I decided to sleep with you, Sunthraze. Truth is… I didn't. But I saw what I wanted to anyway, so it didn't matter."

"I… sort of know the feeling. You know, that thing you said about Saturna and Kael'thas… it sucks you know? And… I can't even mourn her like he can. Maybe it was something like puppy love but all the same… I never even had her."

Tempest realized that she was playing with Sunthraze's fingers and stopped. "Here, let's sit down for a bit."

They wandered over to the bed together, hand in hand because the room was so dark. Once they sat, Tempest let Sunthraze hold her hand even though it wasn't necessary anymore.

"Thanks." he said.

"No problem. Shortstuff. So it seems… we're in the same boat, as far as Commanders go. Well… Pyorin's not dead yet, but I swear I'm going to _kill_ him if he ever looks at Daphne like that again."

Sunthraze laughed at the unexpected twist. "So… are you still mad that I tricked you into it? Maybe I'm not your old Commander, but it _was_ nice."

Tempest squeezed his hand. "You felt too good for me to be all that mad."

He squeezed back, leaned over to steal himself a kiss in the darkness…

"But you're one crazy sonofabitch if you think I'm going to just let this go!"

"But you just said—"

Tempest got up, rolled Sunthraze over and twisted his arm behind his back.

"Uncle! Uncle!"

"I didn't say for you to cry 'uncle.' Why would you think I'm playing a game with you?"

"By the sun! First you're one way and now the other… You're scaring the hell out of me Tempest… Owwww."

Tempest got close to his ear and snarled, "The next time we sleep together, you better damn well have earned it, understand? You're lucky this time, because you're so fucking adorable for caring about me."

"But I was also clever, I was sly and I tricked you into it. I'm charming, I did so earn it!"

"You're stupid, is what you are!" she twisted harder.

"Gaaah! Lucia… please… Ow."

"I may be a good ride, but I'm not a free ride, Sunthraze the Sly." Finally she let go. Sunthraze gasped for breath while she stomped to the door and slammed it behind her. He wasn't even sure Tempest left, because of the pain.

Which is why, when he got up the next morning and saw the chain still on his door, Sunthraze freaked out. It took him ten whole minutes to work up the courage to get out of bed and then he checked underneath it. After that he dashed into the closet, sword drawn… Finally, he crept over to the chain and inspected it. Tempest hadn't locked them both in last night, she wasn't still in the room somewhere. She'd simply left the chain behind. No doubt on purpose to scare him out of his mind after she threatened him like that.

"That woman…" he shook his head. "That's _not_ a woman."

But then Sunthraze the Sly looked back over at the bed and wished for all he was worth that he'd at least tricked Tempest into sleeping with him in the daylight. He swore that he'd have her again so that he could see her doing to him what he felt. He wanted to see her smile like that just for him, do everything in _his_name, not some washed up bed-headed card-shark stupid enough to lead on such a... perfect, sexy woman. So what if she was a little scary? That was the best part.

Just thinking about Tempest again, and the challenge of getting her all to himself… The notion went straight to his head and Sunthraze had to sit down. He had to talk himself down from a second impulse, to go run and find her—naked as he was—do it all again, now. He was clever, he could talk his way into it… somehow. Sunthraze focused on the chain around his doorknob and took a deep, calming breath. No, that didn't make any sense. Wanting her again was so distracting…

"Oh Lucia…" Sunthraze the Sly whispered to himself and grinned devilishly. "You are about to learn why they call me what they do… And then you are going to call me by that same name, in that sexy voice of yours. So very, many times."


	6. Secrets of the Matriarch

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Five: Secrets of the Matriarch**

When Lady Liadrin scheduled her appointment with the Prince through Advisor Sorn, the old man fretted that Kael'thas was trying to indulge in a second blissfully irresponsible week alone with his son.

"Not that it isn't nice Sorn… but do I agree work needs to get done. And if Kael'thas thinks he's going to avoid my nagging him into returning to Silvermoon…"

"Oh yes, thank the Sun for you!" Sorn came around his desk and hugged her fiercely as if she were a long lost relative. "I thought I was the only one around here with some sense, and for so many years I feared I was going to go as mad as Illidan! Yes, please _do_ talk some sense into Kael'thas.I've tried everything… but I always seem to pay for it. And then, I'm forced to clean up Kael'thas' messes, and he punishes me for that too."

"Son of Anasterian Sunstrider, indeed." Lady Liadrin observed grimly and rolled her white shirt sleeves. "Well, I shall put a stop to that right now!"

Four Sunfury guards in crimson armor lowered weapons to block her way but Lady Liadrin and Sorn gave them a look together that made the stolid expressions flicker chastised and childlike. They winced and bowed and one of them made a quick signal to the magical doors to override the sentient ward.

"The Lady Liadrin here to see you, Prince Kael'thas." Sorn announced without being asked. To Kael'thas' offended look, Sorn replied, "Surely, you knew this was coming eventually. You yourself remarked something about 'Bloodknights bearing gifts…'"

"That was your one smart comment for today Sorn."

"Yes, your Majesty. Well, once more it seems I was only good enough to get you through the doors…" he quickly lost his nerve, and scuttled back outside leaving the Lady to fend for herself.

"Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider—and don't interrupt _me_—we will have words. Perhaps one thing has been settled between us but you have a great deal more to account for these days—"

"Mommy! Hiiii!" Belorim bounced up and down in his father's lap where they sat at his desk. Several important books of magic and thick Tempest Keep reports lay open and evidently Kael'thas had been trying to read them… even though Belorim was drawing all over the important documents with a sloppy plumed stylus.

Kael'thas seemed more exhausted than he was happy.

"Belorim, son… do you remember what I explained to you, that Lady Liadrin isn't exactly your mother?"

"Don't confuse the boy, Kael'thas." Lady Liadrin took a seat before the desk. "Belorim dear, look at me."

He was humming to himself and dripping a pool of ink onto a detailed schema of one of Pathaleon the Calculator's most recent inventions. Kael'thas winced, but said nothing.

"Prince Belorim." She addressed the boy more firmly so that he would look up. "Lady Saturna Whiteblade was your mother. She's no longer with us, but she loved you very much."

Belorim frowned and went back to drawing. Kael'thas smoothed back some of his son's short-clipped hair.

"But I like you better, Lady Laadrin."

She looked like she wanted to hug him, so Kael'thas did it for both of them, since he was closer.

"Alright, Bim, time for daddy's meeting. Why don't you go play over there—"

The second that Kael'thas lifted the boy out of his lap he started bawling. Kael'thas quickly apologized and set his son back down.

"You shouldn't do that to him. He'll get spoiled if you don't discipline him."

Kael'thas stayed focused entirely on his son. "I owe him so much… Belorim can have whatever he wants."

It wasn't reason talking. Lady Liadrin chose to let the subject drop, for now.

"Well, I'd like to begin by simply saying 'hello.' That is how I_ wished_ to meet you again, after all these years. The last time I saw you, you were a red-faced teenager shouting at your father that you were going to Dalaran no matter what." She couldn't help laughing at the memory. "You gave Anasterian a lot of wrinkles you know."

"And how." Kael'thas grinned proudly. "But going to Dalaran… many Blood Elves might disagree, and I myself regretted not being in Silvermoon when everything happened… but I did learn important lessons there. It was best that I went. Now I have the tools I need, the education and the magic to take full advantage of what Tempest Keep has to offer Quel'thalas."

"That brings me to the second thing I need to speak with you about, My Prince. What exactly are you doing out here, in Tempest Keep?"

"Look! It's a flower." Belorim suddenly said, and ripped the page out of his father's book to show Lady Liadrin the drawing. Kael'thas bit his lower lip to hear it happening. "I like flowers."

"I see… You know what, Belorim? I brought along a surprise for you."

"Ooh! Gimme!"

"No, that is not how you ask for something. Do it as I showed you."

Belorim rocked back and forth, not wanting to do it. He kept his mouth shut.

"Just give it to me, I'll hand it to him—"

"No Kael'thas. Belorim must to learn to be polite. He'll ask for it when he's ready. That's what a good boy would do." Lady Liadrin eyed the boy sternly. "But Kael'thas, back to what you were saying… what _are_ you doing here in Tempest Keep?"

"When Illidan isn't asking for my military support, experiments. With the Sunwell gone, Quel'thalas is without a sustainable source of magical energy." He raised his hand to Lady Liadrin's objections. "I know all about the runestones that take advantage of the natural lei lines running through the countryside, and the sanctums. But many of those were destroyed. The magical barriers that protected our kingdom have completely failed. Rommath reports to me that the Farstriders are doing what they can, but whatever it is, it's not the same as a fully functioning magical ward. We're trying to re-create that here."

"Is that really all?"

"No. There's also the matter of our racial addiction."

"But Lord Illidan helped you with that… did he not?"

"The mana tap and arcane torrent techniques are useful, yes… but it isn't a permanent solution. You know as well as I that there are those among our people, the Wretched, who couldn't learn the technique so easily. Why should those less magically inclined die out? It's a bit selective, don't you think? Even the weak have a right to live."

"Honestly, with the way you've manipulated the Broken and other lesser races in Outland Kael'thas, I seriously doubted I'd ever hear you say something so humanitarian."

"Well you see, in those situations I had to—"

"Can I have it, pweeese?" Belorim finally spoke up.

Lady Liadrin smiled at him and reached into her satchel. She withdrew three colored wax sticks and showed them to Belorim.

"I worked very hard to find these out here. Do you know what they are, Belorim?"

"Crayons!" he cheered.

"Yes, crayons. Now, you have to take good care of them. That means you need to use fresh paper," she winked at Kael'thas, "And draw on a clear surface so they don't break. There's lots of space over there on the floor, and I brought paper too. Wouldn't you like to get down and play with the crayons?"

Belorim chewed on his fingers as he thought about it.

"I'm only handling one thing at a time, Kael'thas, but you need to break him of that habit too. He could get strep throat, even at his age."

Kael'thas looked alarmed. "I… didn't think…"

"Okay." Belorim scooted out of his father's lap and walked over to Lady Liadrin. First, she took a cloth from her bag and wiped off Belorim's hand. Then, she handed him the crayons and paper.

"What do I draw?!" he got excited.

"Why not draw daddy?" Kael'thas smiled. Belorim loved this idea. He sat down on the spot and started with a red crayon.

"Instructions also help. He needs to learn to follow them at his age. Now, as you were saying, about you enslaving—"

"Not in front of him." Kael'thas cut her off.

"Then you shouldn't be doing it at all." Lady Liadrin swiftly made her point. "But I agree with what you at least believe on the surface of all this conflict. The Blood Elves could use a better solution than what Illidan gave us. I was honestly wondering if it could be trusted… when I put two and two together that you weren't the one who came up with the idea. All due respect My Prince, but your Rommath is so easy to see through."

"I'm not ashamed of Illidan's help, or Rommath's either for that matter. I just…" Kael'thas frowned that he couldn't say it out loud. "Being self-sufficient is of course preferable."

"You don't want to owe Illidan any more than you already do." She filled in for Kael'thas.

"Exactly. Now, as for the other projects… There are two satellites adjacent to Tempest Keep that I've transformed into sophisticated labs for such research. My people over in the Botanica are working on a simpler cure to the racial addiction, while my scientists in the Mechanar have been tasked with developing a new power source for Quel'thalas. My third and final goal here in Outland is to get this damned ship," he snapped his mouth shut, this time for Belorim's benefit, not Illidan's, "This _darned_ ship up and running. And I want the Exodar back or destroyed. I don't care that the Draenei stole it away to Azeroth and are living in it."

"Now that's bold."

"Indeed. I won't settle for less than all of what I came here to Netherstorm for and successfully conquered, by right. Beyond the principle of the thing, my reasons have a more practical rationale as well. Tempest Keep is a dimensional ship. It can transport to wherever I say when it's working properly with all its components. As a roving fortress, Quel'thalas could…"

"It's done! Look!" Belorim hopped up to show Lady Liadrin.

"Oh, Belorim, that's very pretty."

"… and lay waste to any one who opposes us."

Lady Liadrin blanched at the part she didn't quite hear. "What! You can't be serious, Kael'thas."

"I am as serious as death. This whole place is a weapon. And another thing, once Tempest Keep is up and running, Blood Elves could ensure their survival by traveling to other realms and spreading out our numbers so that a disaster like Arthas could never threaten us with… nothing short of extinction again."

"Look! Daddy, look, I drawed you!"

Kael'thas was forced to calm down and look at what his son was showing him. It wasn't much more than a red triangle and lots of yellow sticks and circles, but it made him smile.

"Are your villainous desires for galactic conquest cooled any, now that you see what you'd be robbing countless parents of unknown races and creeds of?" Lady Liadrin slyly asked.

Kael'thas could only look at the picture Belorim lovingly drew.

"That's what I thought. Instead of turning Tempest Keep into an impenetrable weapon of preemptive death and destruction—which is not any different than the work of the Burning Legion, by the way—why not simply repair it enough to go and protect Silvermoon City from further attacks, or why not craft a promised land for all those poor pilgrims who are trying to find their beloved Prince in Outland? That way, those who are seeking relief from the devastation in Quel'thalas can realize the new home they've been dreaming of, and rest their weary spirits."

Kael'thas hugged Belorim close, still fixed on the picture. "Spoken like a true priestess."

"An ex-priestess, but a champion of the beauty of life—which is the very crux of religion itself—all the same."

Kael'thas wordlessly nodded. "Well said. I will most certainly… consider your suggestion."

"That's monarch speak for 'you're right, but I can't say it right now or else I'll lose face' but I understand. Now, if you could put my Bloodknights to work helping with these projects of yours that will keep certain dangerous minds busy while I—"

"Do you like it?" Belorim squeaked at his father. Clearly, he wanted to be included in the conversation.

"I love it. And I love you." Kael'thas hugged his son again.

"If your father puts it up on the wall, then you can always see it. Wouldn't you like that, Belorim? And you could draw another picture next time… where your father has eyes and feet, perhaps? A good artist pays attention to detail."

"I need more crayons." Belorim told Lady Liadrin.

Kael'thas had to look away from his son's scheming, hide his smile. At this age… it was brilliant.

Lady Liadrin didn't miss it. "If I bring you more my young Prince, will you work harder on your pictures?"

"I need a hundred crayons!"

Kael'thas finally intervened. "Two or three more at a time is enough. Too many and you might go crazy."

Lady Liadrin and Belorim shook hands over the deal.

"Now son, what do you say? It was very nice of her to offer that to you."

"Thank you, Lady Laadrin."

"My life for my Prince." She nodded reverently.

While Belorim sat down to draw more pictures, Kael'thas walked her to the door.

"Oh, thank you so much! That is the calmest Belorim's been this last week. I don't know how you did it."

"Discipline. A Sunstrider especially needs discipline."

"You're telling me. And thank you for the other advice. I'm not at liberty to bounce ideas off of anyone here. You might have noticed that… my relationship with Pyorin and the others is a bit strained. Sunthraze especially… I'm almost certain that he blames me for Saturna's death. But more than that, I suspect my own champions are at odds with each other. Between you and me Liadrin, they really can't work together on anything. And I think… I think it's because _I'm _the one giving them the orders. Their hearts aren't in it anymore. I fear Saturna was the glue holding those three together." Kael'thas scratched his head idly during the poignant pause. "Advisor Sorn would be the other person I'd usually confide in but he sold me out to the Naga a while back, and I haven't trusted him since, though he's very good at what he does. And Illidan… well, I don't dare tell him everything that I'm doing… not that it matters."

_Not that it matters… Hey, we said the same thing!_

Kael'thas refused to indulge Illidan playing games with him now… and as usual, it was difficult to tell if Illidan was being serious or not. Kael'thas managed a quick and maybe patronizing 'yes aren't you a clever one' through their Soul Link and moved on.

Lady Liadrin touched Kael'thas' arm. "It's lonely at the top. You could be back in Silvermoon and you'd find yourself in the same position. But Fennore is helping you, isn't he?"

Kael'thas nodded. "He seems to be the only one around here who does not blame me for Saturna's death. I don't even… if Belorim ever grows up and accuses me, the way I hold myself accountable…" Kael'thas chewed his thumbnail nervously, which is probably where his son got it from. "I don't know what I'd do."

"I'm glad that you are at least entertaining the idea that Belorim will live so long. The way you were spoiling him by being careless about his health, his mental and social well-being, I at first feared that you didn't believe in your son. He survived the journey out here, Kael'thas, just like you did. He's a fighter."

"Again, I can't thank you enough for bringing him to me."

"It was my duty, and my honor to reunite you." When she could have opened the door to leave, Lady Liadrin turned back and asked, "One last thing… How is General Blaize faring? Can you trust him?"

Kael'thas folded his arms up into long red sleeves. "Yes, I do trust him. Blaize surely hates me deep down, or maybe perhaps not so deep down, and he has a right to be so angry. But the man is a patriot first and foremost. Loyalty to country, and I fall into that category, is what drives him, and I can depend on that at least. Now, I know about how he convinced you and your Bloodknights to surrender so easily… I'm warning you right off Liadrin, that he's a user, a rake. Blaize is terrible with women, but he's very good on the battlefield and off with the Sunfury. Though I suppose… if he can't treat a woman right how much of a good person does that really make him?" Kael'thas stopped short, a flash of anger crossed his face then. Lady Liadrin guessed it had something to do with Illidan's voice in his head, and the comment the Demon Lord just made was only obvious.

"Excuse me…" Kael'thas walked away from her a few paces, though when she couldn't hear his inner conversation, it should not have mattered.

She watched a vein at the side of his neck tense. Kael'thas balled hands into fists, began shaking his head furiously at no one. He looked mad. At last he burst forth, "Illidan, dare you to make that joke again and I swear I will think of nothing but Tyrande and Malfurion together for a whole week! Yes, I'd go there, a punishment for the both of us!"

On the floor, Belorim didn't really understand and laughed at his father's funny behavior. Or… did he understand perfectly and was cheering Kael'thas on against their common enemy? At that moment the boy was about as disturbing as his father, who was busy having an argument with himself in a corner.

After a beat, Kael'thas strode back over smiling wickedly. "That's what I _thought._" He mumbled to himself then explained uncomfortably, "Illidan is an _ass_. He seems to remember… what he likes about my relationship with Saturna. I was a gentleman, of course."

Lady Liadrin was starting to wonder if she really knew Kael'thas all that well, if he felt he had to defend himself against what she assumed was obvious enough. Nor did she like the way he argued with Illidan. Considering the circumstances, it was nearly playful and therefore out of place. Those two… there was something very _wrong_ about Illidan and Kael'thas.

She had to remind Kael'thas what they were talking about. "Right… I think Blaize's loyalty is the one reason my soldiers haven't defected by now. And it wouldn't be the first time, as you surely realize after having visited Shatthrath City. But why do you ask about him?"

"I was just wondering… You two are still at odds, aren't you?"

"I feel terrible about what happened to Saturna." Kael'thas paused. "And honestly, I feel terrible about the hell I put Blaize through. I treated him worse than a dog while I courted her. I realize how precious life is now, more than ever before. Blaize knows that I've been trying to treat him better. And believe me, it's _hard._I think he's guilting me a bit for it too, but I can't help when I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. I want my General to respect me again, for my troops to respect me, as a person."

"Yes, I noticed much of that myself, but I wanted to be sure." Then, she sighed, "But about people accepting you personally… I'm sorry Kael'thas, but that is validation you may never receive from your army or officers—waiting for that many people to forgive you? I'm warning you not to put too much faith into it."

He didn't like hearing that and looked away briefly. "I'm still not sure why you want to know about all this, Liadrin."

"I am a Bloodknight. It is my job to protect you, my Prince. Blaize and I have history, I might be able to change his mind for you, ensure that your troops won't pull another 'Scryer incident' while you need to be focused on Belorim. More specifically though, I'm letting you in on this because… if Blaize goes and asks you why I'm snooping around him, I want you to say that you asked me to set to work on him."

Kael'thas gave her a curious look. "Won't that make me seem… desperate to get back in the good graces of the Sunfury?" but he didn't seem confused about her intentions, but rather her plans. Liadrin tensed a little. Of course he was seeing right through it, afterall, Kael'thas had been through this with four—she paused to consider the viability of Saturna's efforts… nope it was four—Bloodknights who ended up being far too silly to successfully complete the mission to save him.

"Apologetic is the word that comes to my mind. And no, I didn't expect you to infer that much Kael'thas. I was hoping to trick you into backing this… little Blaize project I'm planning."

"Bloodknights are not paladins. I keep having to remind myself of that. You all tend to force people to do the right thing, and punish ignorance rather than reward good deeds… Am I close?"

"Look daddy! I drawed you again!"

"In short, I beg permission to take a bit of revenge on Nathaniel Blaize." Lady Liadrin saluted Kael'thas.

Kael'thas picked up his son when Belorim came over and tugged on his red robes. The two of them looked at Lady Liadrin.

"You're planning a helluva lot that I just tried to but couldn't follow." Kael'thas admitted dryly.

"Let me at him, Kael'thas. If he comes complaining to you about it, don't be shocked and throw me into the Arcatraz over it—"

"Don't_ kill_ him though. Maybe he's an asshat, but I still need my General." Kael'thas whispered.

Lady Liadrin assured him it wasn't anything that extreme.

"Granted."

"Bye!" Belorim waved before she even turned to leave.

Lady Liadrin shook her head in disbelief. "Alright, I can take a hint. You take good care of your father, Belorim."

"I know." He said. The last thing Lady Liadrin heard as she departed was Belorim telling—not asking—his father to make her give him more crayons right away. He didn't think he should have to draw pictures, to work for it if he already showed them he was a good boy.

It gave her goosebumps to wonder what Belorim might grow up to be like. His perception of people was acute, and he knew how to get his way. And the best part was that Kael'thas might just be tempted to undo everything, rescind every little law she laid down this morning to keep Belorim in check. Today it was crayons and drawings… tomorrow, the way his father was going, perhaps dimensional warships and intergalactic Thalassian empires?

Well, she'd begged Kael'thas not to go quite that far. What kind of charming child had he once been then, to come up with something so startlingly brilliant and unsettling such that she was rethinking her own sound advice after the meeting was long over?

Lady Liadrin didn't waste any time arranging to meet with General Blaize that evening. At first the man said no, but she insisted he change his plans. About an hour before their date, Lady Liadrin was irritated to hear from Tempest and Daphne themselves when the girls reported in to muster, that Blaize had two dates planned with them that very evening. They wondered why Blaize mysteriously cancelled at the last minute. Surprise, surprise, Nate still worked fast.

Doe-eyed Daphne was the most disappointed. Blaize's sweeping down seemingly out of the sky like a knight in shining armor to save them left an impression on her that Tempest made some bad comment about. Liadrin sat the two young women down and revealed everything to them right then and there, for their own good.

"When I was a young woman, Nathaniel Blaize—he did not have a title, even back then—came to court me. I was well past my prime, according to the Thalassian Court, and was lucky to have anyone call on me at all at that age. To make matters worse, they said I was too bookish." She rolled her eyes. "There was no room for an educated or ambitious woman at court in those days."

"So… you're trying to tell us that he swept you off your feet then dropped you on your ass? Look, no offense, but it was probably that tired hair color. You should be a redhead, like me. Hmm… and you still look pretty young, but you're going to have to show some skin if you want him back." Tempest crossed her arms. She sat in a rickety wood folding chair in the spare office Liadrin used. Tempest's legs were splayed wide, like a man.

Lady Liadrin sighed. "I am not _trying_ to get him back! Aren't you listening to me? And, will you close your legs and sit like a lady!"

"But I haven't got a skirt on. It doesn't matter right now."

"She's a lost cause, Lady Liadrin. You couldn't hitch two teams of wild Hawkstriders to those thighs and drag them closed."

Tempest smirked proudly and bragged. "Sunthraze didn't seem to mind my feminine charms last night. That makes us what, 1 and 0, virgin? You're falling behind again."

Lady Liadrin scowled. "So you _were_ playing 'musical beds' as Fennore called it! Do you think that your chastity is some game? A young woman like you… you should be following Daphne's example and saving yourself for a special sort of gentleman."

"Actually, I hate being chaste. And I'm so confused about what I really want from a man… it's such an emotional roller coaster. Sometimes, I feel like I should just give in. Maybe I _could_ really use a good fu—"

Lady Liadrin shushed Daphne.

"Yep, you sure do. I'm a lot calmer now that I let Sunthraze have his way with me. Maybe it started out bad… but it ended so _well_, you know?" Tempest smiled a little. "Mmm… there's nothing like a good shag from a hot guy. And you should see him Daphne, he's completely smitten with me now. I'll have my regular fanclub going again before long." Daphne rolled her eyes at Tempests' arrogant smile. "Though, he's still cruisin' for a bruisin' if he keeps up with his smart-mouthed comments and those childish tricks. Though he _is_ the clever type, and that's very sexy… Gotta' give him _that_."

Lady Liadrin shook her hands in the air, getting flustered. "Wait just a second, you two are _not_ going to interrupt one of my lectures by dragging me into your girlish gossip. You _will_ sit properly and listen to my story regarding Nathaniel Blaize, and you _will_ learn something from it and stay away from him."

"All due respect, Matriarch, but it's pretty obvious by now what happened. He dumped you, and took your family's money. So?" Daphne shrugged. "Happens all the time."

"He did _not_ succeed at taking my family's money, and he didn't dump me."

Daphne waggled a finger. "Now, now, someone's in denial, can't let go of the past…"

"My parents broke us up before anything could happen!"

Tempest snorted laughter. "Suuure they did. You keep thinkin' that."

Lady Liadrin growled with frustration when they kept chattering over her, and then the girls' gossiping and joking deteriorated into offensive conversation not fit for ladies, as it always did. Lady Liadrin turned to an old chalkboard nearby, clawed her fingers…

The loud screeching of nails against slate had both Tempest and Daphne covering their ears and whimpering for it to stop. Then, they stopped complaining because the sound of their own voices combined with the noise made it even worse.

At last, Lady Liadrin was able to compose herself. "Suddenly, I don't mind that the only room Kael'thas could spare for my office is an old storage room. Clearly, the two of you could still use some schooling. Anyway, back to what I was trying to convey before I was so selfishly and crudely interrupted… It is not what Nate does to women that is so dangerous. Any common thief could take your money. It is how he makes you _feel_. I was so caught up in the spell of his charm, though he had no title of his own, hardly any money at all, no prospects… I was ready to run away from home and my loving parents just to be with him. At the time, I thought it unfair, but my parents did what they felt they had to with a wayward daughter who was determined to wind up destitute and abandoned on the streets Silvermoon. They had me put in a convent. I was already a studious girl, the cloistered life appealed to me eventually… But, really, that is how I got there in the first place. It took me years of studying the Light before I realized that I did not believe in myself and _that_ was the real source of my misfortune in every aspect of life, not my parents. Nate was able to manipulate me because I had low self-esteem, and therefore low expectations. I was secretly desperate and willing to throw myself at the first opportunity that came along. If I had stronger faith in the Light, the pure magical essence of life that exists in myself and every blessed creature, then I would have never fallen prey to the likes of him. Though I was studious, I could have been confident as well as an intellectual, and attracted a husband at Court. Or any kind-hearted man really. I just didn't have confidence to _try_. Girls, I do not wish you to spend your best years caught up in that man's games, reeling from the break up with only mournful self-reflection as your comfort. You all deserve better than that."

Daphne pouted, then went to hug Lady Liadrin. "Aww… you were so brave. I'm sorry that happened to you."

Tempest didn't look impressed. "You're still under his spell now, from what I can tell. You just want him all to yourself, don't you?"

"What? No… I'm older now, wiser. Nate has a strong voice here in the Black Temple. If I allow him to maneuver me, the way he used to… he will certainly take the bait and then I can use him back, tell him that as the Bloodknight Matriarch I can give him financial security, and the precious title he's been after all this time, if he helps us convince Kael'thas to return home."

"What, you tell me to close _my_ legs and then you admit that you're going to open yours wide, just to settle an old vendetta?"

"She's right, my Lady. And, it's not lost on us that you keep calling him Nate. That's a nickname."

"No Daphne," Tempest donned her classic sultry grin, "Maybe it's actually 'Big Nate' or 'Nate Blaize' or maybe even 'Big Nate Blaize'… and she's holding back, to keep it nice and conservative, like a real lady of the Court. Honestly, you're being such a hypocrite! You talk to Daphs and me as if this _were_ your old convent, some girls' school run by nuns with their panties bunched too tight up their asses…"

Daphne giggled.

"You want a religious education! Fine, you've got one. Here, take this chalk and start writing." She shoved a piece of white chalk in Tempest's hand and pointed at the black board.

"Okaaay, but this is weird…"

"I… will not…" she prompted the sentence to Tempest, "sit with my legs open, shamelessly fornicate with strangers…"

"Hey!"

"You keep your eyes on the board, young lady, not on any of your friends…" when Daphne started laughing again, Lady Liadrin got an old yardstick in her hand from one of the dusty book crates and pointed at her. Daphne cleared her throat and looked away, chastised. "Now back to the lesson! Nor will I… threaten impressionable young men with sex and violence, lest I shame my family, my Matriarch, the Blood Nexus, and the benevolent Light above… so help me, Lucia the Tempestraven."

"Damn, I'm getting a cramp in my hand from writing all this. And that's a run-on sentence if I ever saw one."

"You will add the phrase, 'nor will I swear in such an unseemly fashion', and then rewrite that overly long sentence—that is in itself the punishment—ninety-nine more times!"

"What? You've got to be kidding me! I'm a grown woman, and a Bloodknight…"

"Daphne, on the other hand, has behaved herself these last few moments. You may go now dear. And do mind General Blaize, as I instructed, or you will experience firsthand what other punishments they taught me over in the convent."

Daphne did a playful curtsey, as if she had a long plaid uniform skirt on, stuck her tongue out at Tempest then left. "Yay, now I get to go to recess and play with the boys!"

Tempest put the chalk down on the blackboard ledge. "I am _not_ doing this."

Lady Liadrin reached over and slapped her hand with the long ruler. "Yes you will, you naughty girl! Someone has to teach you some manners if your mother failed to. Now, get writing. And my date with Nate… Nathaniel, is not for another two hours or so. I have plenty of time to stand here and see that you do it properly."

Tempest mumbled something to the effect of, "Why not let this run into your date? I'm sure Big Nate will get a little something out of seeing you treat me like this. And it will help your cause, you plain-jane old battle axe…"

"No school girl jokes!" Lady Liadrin slapped Tempests' hand with the yardstick again.

"Ow!" then again under her breath… "Stupid Mother Liadrin, making me stay after school just for talking to the boys…"

Luckily for Lady Liadrin, the naughty young Bloodknight's punishment ended just in time for her date with the man she still called Nate Blaize…

Tempest Keep had many sweeping balconies with excellent views of the sky all around. After their private dinner, Liadrin and Blaize stood on one such terrace. The rose sunset touched everything. It was amazing, like what a bird would see when it flew. And there was always a wind… it truly did feel like flying.

"I'm so glad you wanted to meet with me, Liadrin. I thought that maybe after all these years, you weren't interested." They were alone but he was sort of shouting over the loud wind.

She had to do it too. "You didn't break my heart, my parents did when they broke our engagement and sent me away to become a priestess. I never let myself forget that." She pulled him away from the golden balcony railing that had definitely been built up by the recent Blood Elf inhabitants of Tempest Keep, not the original Naaru or Draenei owners. Just inside a stone alcove they were able to speak normally. "What was it you had to do again, that you almost couldn't make our date?"

"Oh, Kael'thas needed to speak with me. I told him you were more important though."

Smooth. Lady Liadrin tried to hide the anger she felt. Had he always been this good at lying? She was lucky to have met with Kael'thas earlier this day, or else maybe she might have believed that he and the Prince got along so well that Blaize and he were on casual speaking terms, such that he could order the very Prince of Quel'thalas around!

"How sweet of you." She smiled.

"No, you're the sweet one." Blaize kissed her. Lady Liadrin found herself breathless… it had been a long time since she was kissed like that.

"You haven't changed."

"No, I really haven't. Well… that's not entirely true. I got married, did you know that?"

"It almost sounds like you're testing me, to see if I've asked around."

Blaize laughed a little uneasily. "Well… I fell in love with Saturna. I really did." He got quiet. "I really, truly did. And now _he_ has a son with her."

Lady Liadrin waited for the 'but I'm over it now, more than ready to be with you,' but that part never came. She was ashamed to have assumed that Blaize would be so shallow, and empathized with him.

"I'm so sorry… I loved Saturna too. I watched her grow up, into a strong Bloodknight and a woman. She was a beautiful person, if not a little flaky."

Blaize didn't smile at her joke. "It's Kael'thas' fault that she's gone, you know. I warned her not to get involved with him. The problem is, I forced her." He left off rubbing Lady Liadrin's bare arms, she was wearing a simple blue sleeveless dress. "Back then, I shouldn't have done that. Everything was already going so well between us."

Lady Liadrin caressed the side of his face, and regretting how intimate that was, settled on fixing his shirt collar. "That was three years ago. And you shouldn't blame yourself, or Kael'thas… it was a tragedy. Those tend to be unpredictable."

Blaize said nothing for a long time. They went back inside and sat down on the small couch in his room. "What do you want from me? I give up… Your parents found out that I was after your family fortune all those years ago and told you as much. They broke our engagement, sent you away to be a chaste priestess when you threatened to run away with me regardless. I failed you, Lady Liadrin. And you're a grown woman now, though I'm still the younger one by a few years… Surely you either see that it was a reckless, teenage crush that got out of control, or you're angry with me for being dishonest then. How could you look back and see anything different?"

"You don't trust me." She concluded.

"I can't predict you. If I were you… You're a wise woman. You certainly don't want to get married again, after all this time?"

Lady Liadrin couldn't tell if he was feeling her out, or truly concerned for her feelings.

She reached across him and got her sheer shawl from the edge of the couch, wrapped it around her arms. "We never… "

It was a lot harder to say it than she thought.

"What?"

"We are two consenting adults." She frowned at how clinical that sounded, but it was the only way she was comfortable getting it out. "I'm not a silly girl anymore, a young woman in her late twenties panicking that she hasn't been snapped up by a suitable man at Court yet. After my many years in the priesthood, and then as a Bloodknight, I grew into a woman who never stopped… wanting you, Nate. I'd like to finish what we started, all those years ago, but my parents put a stop to when I was forced to take vows."

General Blaize was smiling. He swept impossible red hair out of his face as he leaned over. There was a white streak that ran through the front of the mane she remembered. Always so much hair, that red was his natural color, so exotic.

"I almost made an ass out of myself a few years ago, and started dying it, to hide the gray." He explained to when he saw her staring.

"I like it better this way… it sort of says, 'blaze.'"

"So that is all you want from me? Sex? Are you sure? Because I can do that for you… But, if you want something more, if you want to try again, I can also take it slow."

Lady Liadrin forgot to breathe when the man she once loved and wanted so badly she was willing to turn her back on her family for him, inched closer to her. There was something unfair about it, like he was asking her for instructions, on how to disarm her…

Blaize kissed her then, hard. They moved to the bed, and he pulled off her dress. He didn't bother with the rest, and that was a little disorienting. He expected her to undress him, he knew that he had her. Was it some sort of game, or a test? To see how far she would go, how much she wanted him. Once he was naked, Blaize wasted no time entering her, doing it exactly the way she always wanted. She had a deep need that he seemed to understand. He thrust into her as if he weren't a man at all, but a fantasy, a creature that only cared for her delight, had no real limits of his own. Blaize was good, very good, too good. He lasted so long that she couldn't think any more, couldn't keep her voice down. Then the orgasm filled her mind and she could only plead his name.

When it was done, Blaize lay beside her, and immediately began asking her questions. "Tell me honestly, is this just about me, or are you just a little lonely? Would you have gone to someone else tonight, maybe Kael'thas?"

It gave Lady Liadrin a jolt to hear the Prince's name spoken now. And it was hard to think straight after the haze of what he'd just done to her. "No! I don't… I don't think of him that way at all."

"Why not? To be honest, I learned the hard way that I don't ever want to compete with him again for a woman. Are you sure you're not interested in him? Tell me now… it won't change anything; you got what you needed, didn't you? The both of us 'consenting adults' as you put it." He sounded a little bitter. "And it was nice, wasn't it? But I won't share you with him. I deserve to know."

"I'd never do that. I don't think of Kael'thas in that way."

Blaize held her close, kissed her face. "You are a beautiful woman. I've wanted you again since the moment I saw you in the shadows, on that horse. I raced ahead to tell my men to stop, not to pursue you but I wasn't fast enough. Though," he kissed her on the lips. "It was exciting, wasn't it? And now, I've caught you."

"Oh, Blaize… that's not fair."

He laughed through his sly smile. "So you do remember. That time I chased you through Eversong Woods… that was the closest we ever came, because you were shy. Until tonight. That was twenty years ago, but I think it was worth the wait." He leaned over her, her heart raced to see him getting ready to thrill her again.

"You're sure that the Prince won't come between us? I feel so very close to you again, this could be good, very good… but I won't have my heart broken a second time. Promise me," he breathed over her lips and then seized them in a hungry kiss.

"I can't."

"You should."

"No… you don't understand." She sat up and wrapped the covers around herself. "If you need peace of mind, after losing Saturna, twice." She bit her lip. "I should tell you this anyway. We were friends once… I never told a soul, and I wished that we could see each other then. I was so young and confused, I wanted to confide in someone, but I never could. And it still hurts, but I am doing everything I can now to make it right."

"Make what right?" He gently prodded.

"I… I am the reason why Kael'thas fled to Dalaran. I am the reason he wasn't there when the Scourge and Arthas attacked the city. And maybe it was even the little seed, the first gamepiece that sent everything in Quel'thalas crashing down when political tension was already so high. There was scandal in the Sunstrider family, it made Kael'thas' home an uncomfortable place for him. There was talk of deposing Anasterian because of the corruption, you remember that. Though his parents tried to protect Kael'thas from it, he was certainly old enough to see… that they weren't happy. It was not just because of the bad politics, Nate. I was his father's confessor, I should have seen the worst of it coming, but I didn't." She turned to Blaize, tears in her eyes. "You see, I feel maternally towards Kael'thas because I did everything I could to help his father back then and because… because I had an affair. With his father."

"But you aren't—"

"No. Of course not, I already told you Kael'thas was grown, a teenager, when it happened. But his father Anasterian was charming and clever. Far better with women than the way Kael'thas turned out to be. Before we got involved, Anasterian was confiding in me about his other extramarital affairs. I was helping him with what he called 'the family curse'… Something about male Sunstriders not being able to help their appetites for women. After months of this, I finally realized that my King was attracted to me too. Anasterian, the King of Quel'thalas," Lady Liadrin still smiled a little on remembering it, "...wanted _me_,a plain girl stuck in a convent without a husband. Oh, I knew it was wrong, but I was caught in the middle. In the end, I wanted it, to be loved by the King himself." She clarified, "No, it wasn't just about… intimacy, Nate. I was _in love_ with the King, Kael'thas' father. Anasterian told me that he was trying to reform, but he was stuck in his unhappy marriage and couldn't divorce his wife, the Queen. I fantasized that we would one day be together, get married even. Anasterian loved his son so much, he told me about all of his worries for Kael'thas. I worried about Kael'thas too. When Anasterian told me I was a better listener than his wife, that I was a better rolemodel for his son, I actually believed him. I dreamed of saving Anasterian from that life, and helping him to watch over Kael'thas. Maybe Anasterian was the King of Quel'thalas, but back then I didn't see that he was also just a man. Anasterian used his presence, my loyalty and reverence for him to get me to break my vows at last."

Blaize's expression was unreadable.

"And you have heard about the scandal that ensued, Nate. We're in the same generation. It was in the newspapers and on the lips of every busybody courtier or peasant there ever was in Silvermoon. They said the Queen found out about Anasterian's many affairs. Well, she only saw one affair. And it wasn't with some painted bored trophy wife of a Silvermoon nobleman. It was the plain 'lackluster Liadrin' who so stirred her husband, the King, and a Sunstrider..."

Blaize sighed. "You sound a little proud about it to me–"

"Yes!" Liadrin itched her messy pale brunette bun and shut her eyes. "No... yes, and no, Nate. Everyone discounted me. Every single person in that castle. Especially that damnable Queen Celestia. What I did, having an affair with her husband was wrong. But taking her down a notch... no, I don't think I'll ever apologize for that. Nor was she a model wife herself... But I digress. Anasterian managed to calm down his wife's initial explosive wrath against me, but not before his political rivals caught wind of it. They said the scandal was proof the King was a greedy man, of ill moral character for ruling a kingdom. These people were tired of the Sunstriders and their thousands of years of privilege. I happen to think it's a rightful privilege over other Blood Elves, especially when you look at what Kael'thas' ancestor Dath'remar did for us... well I'm of what they call the old mindset. But these brash newcomers, they wanted Anasterian and his family out, despite their superior magical acumen. Those bloodthirsty dogs would have latched onto anything at all really, but this became their edge."

She hugged her knees. "After Kael'thas was safe away in Dalaran, Anasterian let them hold trials. Anasterian insisted on his innocence, and finally refused to reveal any of the women's identities when they provided evidence to the contrary and it came down to that. It was a wise decision for the King to make. There were so many… Countless noblemen lost their wives to Anasterian once or twice, in some cases there were years-long affairs. Retaliation would have come from all sides. Then everyone would be fighting over the throne: distant Sunstriders, members of the Convocation of Silvermoon, anti-monarchists... such a mess. It would have been nothing short of civil war, and not among _Humans_ Nate, but in Quel'thalas. So disgraceful. Well, I knew this at the time. I knew the whole truth about Anasterian, but still I longed to be with him. I offered to testify on his behalf, to lie, Nate! That is how foolish I was... but Anasterian was smart. He knew better than to trust the fate of his family and the kingdom to an emotional–and he probably realized I was a bit delusional, his charms worked so well–young priestess."

Blaize thought it through quickly. "But he did have your career ended, put you back in the convent as if you were a novice and all your hard work over the years meant nothing at all. Just to keep your mouth shut... you might as well have been thrown in jail. Oh, Liadrin I'm so sorry… I heard that you'd become disillusioned with the Light and that was why you stopped being the King's confessor. But they made it seem like it was your choice to go back to the libraries to read and study and train, none of the legwork counseling other people. I had no idea that seclusion was enforced."

"Queen Celestia wanted revenge on me. She believed I was the only one Anasterian was going to all along, for all those years. I grew up on the day I realized that my own King was letting his wife think that about me, to cover up all the other affairs only I knew about… but that was months later. Right then, Anasterian told me I had to leave the castle, that he had to ruin my career to save me, to satisfy his Queen's wrath. Maybe for the sake of the Sunstrider name, they could never reveal me and so bring forth evidence of _all_ the affairs, legitimize the rumors of scandal. But he had to let Kael'thas' step-mother ruin me in private. Anasterian said he had no other choice."

"He could have protected you, but he didn't. He was the King afterall." Blaize observed.

"Oh, what a horrible secret!" she cried. "I felt so disempowered. Being used like that by my own King just… broke my heart, right in two. How could I remain a priestess after they demoted me so far? I gave into the rumors about my being disillusioned with the Light. I let Anasterian win–I was still so in love with him–and gave up. But as they say, there is a thin line... I grew to want my own revenge in those days alone in the convent. It burned me up to hate so strongly but there was nothing I could do with the feeling.

"Now I think I understand the mentality of a Bloodknight." Blaize said. "Though... I can't see that I'd be so loyal to Kael'thas after his father was so horrible to you. Don't tell me you can't see the same in _the son_. The corrupt dealings, the affairs... You feel maternally towards him because of Anasterian and because Kael'thas loved Saturna maybe, but _I_ think Kael'thas singlehandedly destroyed her."

_Just like Anasterian destroyed you._ Blaize hadn't said it, but it was there just the same.

It would have been so very easy to explain about her Nexus of Bloodknights then, and how they were meant to take just that sort of revenge on behalf of Quel'thalas, police Sunstriders even. She seriously doubted Kael'thas was exactly like his father by default–which is what Blaize unfairly suggested. She'd come all this way to give Kael'thas a chance. It was why Liadrin sent Saturna to Kael'thas in the first place three years ago, because the hopeless fangirl would never dare hurt him even if the other Nexites were tempted by such high stakes... That was far too much information for Blaize though.

"I was very tempted to tell the world what Anasterian and his Queen did to me, to satisfy their political and personal marriage problems. But Kael'thas was the reason I didn't go stand up on a soap box and shout it, wear a scarlet 'A' on my breast for everyone to see. He was already having a hard time making friends, meeting girls… His father was his best friend and if Kael'thas lost Anasterian… That could ruin his life, truly. Well, we live in the aftermath of that tragedy, because Arthas surely took Anasterian from Kael'thas if the fat cats in Silvermoon didn't. This is awful to say but… I believe that Anasterian is a hero now, mainly because he was assassinated. But if it had been a Blood Elf patriot and not Arthas… Kael'thas isn't the last Sunstrider because his father was slain. Greed and corruption in the government were already forcing his family in that direction."

Blaize put in, "So that is what kept Anasterian distracted from the Scourge issue… the Humans of Lordaeron, Prince Arthas' own father needed help and begged it of Quel'thalas. But _our_ King had nothing to say to him, insisted there were more pressing matters. But what was Anasterian really concerned about back then? Sex and scandal. Keeping the throne."

Liadrin nodded. "All of us Blood Elves were so obsessed with material things at the supposed height of our civilization. Raising daughters only to breed like prized cattle-stock and sons to cut throats and scheme to get ahead."

Blaize heated at the look Liadrin failed to hide from him in time but said, "And it also seems the sons have reaped the benefits of the previous generation. Prince Arthas became the Lich King and brought the war to our doorstep. By the Sun, Liadrin, and now look at Kael'thas—"

"No. Think about what you are saying. Where are we, Blaize? Kael'thas _has_ learned, it is not like what everyone else says. His father Anasterian put his personal life higher than the conflict with the Humans and the Scourge, higher than the blackmailing and backstabbing going on in the Convocation of Silvermoon, the bribes and lies within the very noble houses… But the son of King Anasterian Sunstrider is in Outland. He is in the world. Kael'thas has expanded his view larger than any Blood Elf. He has set the home he loves aside, voluntarily walked away from that insulated, red-velvet life to do work out here—in Netherstorm, in Tempest Keep—the only place that finding a new energy source or cure for our racial addiction could possibly be done. Would the Kirin Tor help him, or the Alliance? No. That Kael'thas is out here, and still fighting... It is a sign of hope, Nate. There is still room for possibility. Certainly, the Prince's own General hasn't given up hope?"

Blaize crossed his arms and grunted.

She went on, "My fear is that this brilliant young Sunstrider will indulge too much and get lost in his prodigy, forget that he has a legacy to maintain. Anasterian had indulged too far in his own celebrity and gone sloth. But Kael'thas is humble. He hates who he must be, he always has, which is exactly right! It's a terrible responsibility to wield, but Kael'thas carries it so well."

"He's lied to many people Liadrin."

"Yes, politicians tend to lie about lots of things. Besides, that hasn't stopped you, has it Nate? You're not still here serving Kael'thas out of desperation. You haven't defected to the Scryers... and that army is yours more than it is his, from what I've heard. You could do whatever you wanted with the Sunfury but you look to enjoy your job. Admit it Nate, you dislike Kael'thas, but you are proud to carry out his will because the man is good for the country. Kael'thas is sneaky and brilliant for us, ruthless with our enemies."

"Perhaps..."

"_Perhaps_ after all this exciting victory and discovery, the notion of merely sitting on a throne and handling mundane matters that could be outsourced to a Grand Magister, merely retaking the throne, is distasteful to Kael'thas. But I want him to come back home because that is also a part of his great destiny. A Sunstrider can do a great deal of harm as well as good, to be sure. I knew the former, but when I stood before Kael'thas this morning I was surely–by some miracle–blessed in the presence of the latter. Again, I insist Nate, the son is _not_ the father. Kael'thas went to Dalaran. He has a better perspective. He can make things right again, work a miracle for us just like Dath'remar did thousands of years ago when our people crossed the Great Sea and founded Quel'thalas in the first place. Just because things in Silvermoon aren't desperate _yet_, Nate, doesn't mean that they are alright. Rommath, Halduron, and Lorth'remar do nothing but argue over what is to be done. The Convocation of Silvermoon barely held things together in Anasterian's time but now it is dead. Corruption is still everywhere and in fact it is getting worse. I've seen the city in that state before Nate, and so have you. It was just like that after the Scourge came. We are on the brink once more because the people are hopeless and the leadership is unkind. Again, there is an undercurrent of restlessness. My Bloodknights have arrested and prosecuted people who are angry and desperate enough to kill Rommath, or a King, whomever. What Quel'thalas needs is for Kael'thas to come back and remind them of what it is like to feel proud of a Sunstrider, love their leadership in the right way. Until then, Oblivion herself knocks."

"Of course Oblivion would be a woman."

It was a bad joke and Liadrin chose to ignore it. She went on and finished her story. "After Silvermoon fell and Kael'thas' returned to make his famous speech I was thus transformed. I believed in the Sunstriders again and decided that I wanted justice for everyone instead of selfish revenge at the _expense_ of everyone. The Scourge gone, I stopped despairing and gave myself entirely to the reconstruction effort for the greater good. Back then I observed the people and began thinking that if Silvermoon were to be remade, then the government and the monarchy could be remade too. I became politically active, I spoke out about the rights of the citizen during the reconstruction period, about how we had to fight to make that city our city, to avoid the mistakes of the past. Who knows? Maybe a more humble King might have helped the Human kingdoms at the outset and maybe Arthas never would have made it as far as Silvermoon. Maybe Anasterian would have thought twice about seducing his own confessor, someone meant to guide him spiritually, because he was sure he could use her and then abuse his power so that she could say nothing to defend herself. Maybe I would have actually succeeded at helping Anasterian away from that dangerous scandalous path that his enemies were using to eat his career alive and disenfranchise the Sunstrider line! Kael'thas knows what must be done though. He is a proactive leader, don't you agree? He would bite the threat first before it could strike at him."

"I'll admit that… the man scares a lot of us shitless from time to time. Imagine what his enemies feel. Did I tell you that Kael'thas once tried to set me on fire?" Blaize yawned and mumbled, "Fucking hate him sometimes…" Blaize was tired and a little off now, his polished performance fading the longer Liadrin talked.

She was lost in her passionate confession by now though. "…And when the Magisters asked me to become the first Bloodknight, already a champion of the people, I eagerly awaited the day for Kael'thas to come home once more so I could set about making up for what I helped do to his family."

"But he never came home."

"Nate… Oh, Nate, I need you to help me. I know how you work; I'll give you anything. All the Bloodknights will put pressure on Kael'thas to do the right thing on one side, but you are the strongest influence here, because the soldiers honor you. Help me convince Kael'thas to go home and take back what's his by right. After Anasterian died, the threat against the Sunstriders faded briefly because the country was in mourning. But with Rommath and all the dissatisfaction in Silvermoon City there may be nothing left for him or Belorim and that's far worse. With help, I can restore to Kael'thas what was lost."

"Is that why you slept with me?"

Lady Liadrin was so caught up in her patriotic speech, she wasn't expecting that less lofty question.

"I thought that it might endear you to me… yes. I'm sorry, Nate, but I know you. I knew that it would help. And I did want to sleep with you for other reasons too. No matter what happened between us, I regretted that you weren't my first, and that… Anasterian was."

Nate lowered his eyes, thinking. "You asked me what I want in exchange, for convincing Kael'thas?"

"Yes. I used you… it's only fair—"

"No it isn't." he smiled kindly at her. "There is no tally between friends. I don't need some incentive to help you. I care about you, Liadrin. And your cause is just. I'll simply consider our sleeping together a nice little surprise." He kissed her hand.

It was very easy… Blaize was a hard man. It should not have been so simple. He continued, "And what you just told me, it could hurt a lot of people. That should stay between us."

"Of course! Oh, Nate, I'm so glad you understand!"

"Yes… I understand that the Sunfury will finally go home. Just say when you want me to push Kael'thas from the other side. I'm happy to help." He leaned over her again. "But for now… let's continue to help each other."

They made love again, but this time Nathaniel Blaize finished a lot faster. It seemed a little selfish after he'd been so generous the last time, but Lady Liadrin decided not to hold it against him. They weren't as young as they used to be, afterall.

At least… she hoped that's why he didn't think it was necessary to put effort into it this time around.

Blaize put out the light for them both and held Lady Liadrin as she drifted off to sleep. He smiled to himself in the darkness and kissed her. Finally he had a ticket back home, a key to wealth and the kind of life he was owed. Guilt was a powerful weapon indeed… and he was no stranger to wielding it at all. He couldn't wait to begin the battle, to put the pieces in motion.

Which should he do first though? Expose Kael'thas for the unworthy sonofabitch he truly was? Or, get home to Silvermoon at last and finally get the life he was owed. Once upon a time... both of those futures involved Saturna Whiteblade. She was the one woman he ever loved. But she was gone now because Anasterian's son Kael'thas had hurt her. And now Liadrin wanted the son of Kael'thas to go on and destroy other people?

No. No way in hell. Blaize wasn't a monarchist like Liadrin, and he never had been. Blaize would get the Sunfury home first and get his share. Then Kael'thas and all the other cruel and selfish Sunstriders would burn.

Nathaniel Blaize was so excited about the challenge, he didn't sleep.


	7. Five meetings,Seven chilling Discoveries

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Six: Five meetings and Seven chilling Discoveries, Part I**

Can you catch them all?

**A Legion, a Stalker, the Time-Space Continuum, and Mutiny walk into a bar and… **

Kael'thas' schedule was full again. Belorim's crayons—Kael'thas really had let his son have too many of them so fast—and the boy having his own now room helped with keeping to those many important meetings. And strangely enough, Kil'jaeden honored Kael'thas' schedule too.

The red scrying orb on Kael'thas' bedside table whorled with red magic and projected an image of the Burning Legion Demon officer within. Kil'jaeden had been speaking to Kael'thas for the last hour.

… _We have the magic you seek. The Burning Legion knows how to properly operate Tempest Keep. The Naaru have been our enemies for eons, since the beginning of time. Our Eredar scientists are distant relatives of the Draenei, they can help you. We can help you turn it into the powerful fortress you've been dreaming of. Pulling your soldiers back from our camps was the first step. Thank you Blood Elf Prince for that show of confidence._

Kael'thas just listened. Whenever this happened, and it was beginning to feel like a slow torture because it always happened when he was free, when he had time alone in his room.

_And we know about your falling out with Illidan. So tragic, what he did to the woman you loved. Surely, you want revenge? Yes, the Burning Legion can give you that. Allow us into the Keep, let us make the final adjustments to that technology which is alien to you but like second nature to us, and you can portal this doomsday device directly over his head, use the automated weapons to kill him instantly._

That, of course, was the other reason why Kael'thas didn't return correspondence with Kil'jaeden. If he responded to the invitations to join the Burning Legion, or murder his once friend Illidan… Illidan would hear through the Soul Link and through his fel-rune collar. And there was no telling what kind of revenge the Lord of Outland would take on Kael'thas this time. Kael'thas found that if he tried not to concentrate too closely on the words spoken through the scrying orb, made every effort not to take them in for Illidan to hear, then he could get away with it. And it was imperative to be this stealthy. What would Illidan take this as? Something like strike two as far as the Burning Legion was concerned. Illidan never gave a warning before strike three when it came to betrayal, and that is what happened years ago with… Poor Saturna.

_I know what you are thinking, Kael'thas. You are a brilliant Bloodmage. You are not convinced that we can help you, because if we really had the necessary magic or technology, we would have taken Tempest Keep for ourselves by now, thrown you out. Am I right?_

Kael'thas started, but then resisted the powerful urge to nod or respond in any way. Kil'jaeden was clever, he was speaking to him like this on purpose.

_And as for your revenge on Illidan, you believe that we are hoping to merely use you, that when you are done doing what we ask, we will betray you and cast you aside, is that it?_

Kil'jaeden waited a long time for Kael'thas to answer. He didn't.

_You would be wrong if you thought that, handsome Prince of Quel'thalas. All you have seen is the power that the Burning Legion wields. The Demon infantry are merely the hordes of unimportant cannon fodder that we send ahead to draw fire, to intimidate the enemy and demoralize them before we act. Where do you suppose those Infernals come from, falling out of the sky like meteors? No, we have our own dimensional ships that can fire them in rapid succession. Your Tempest Keep could be one of those._

_Furthermore, you are missing the most important element, the real reason you are doubting my genuine offer to join our ranks as a high officer… And by the way, why would you, as royalty, be recruited as anything less? But I want you to forget about what you've heard, the rumors… the Burning Legion does have respect for life._

Kael'thas wanted to shout at the scrying orb that Kil'jaeden was a soulless lying monster, but he resisted that urge too. Maybe the Burning Legion officer wanted to bait him, and Kael'thas wanted to let Kil'jaeden do it because so far in Outland they were the winning team… but he could not afford to make any kind of passion outburst for or against the Legion. Illidan would hear, and If Illidan heard he would certainly come down on Kael'thas. Kael'thas knew he would be forced to say yes to Kil'jaeden on the spot, to protect his son from Illidan's explosive wrath.

…_Just the right kinds of life. We do not respect the Demon soldiers we enslave. They are like your allies' Fel Orcs. They are captured or made out of exotic races from distant worlds to do what needs to be done for those in the high ranks, the visionaries. The Orcs of this world were such pawns, your people have allied with Thrall, that wayward Warchief! Don't you want to save the Blood Elves from that, from the influence of monsters who the Burning Legion saw fit to turn into weapons… Surely, other Blood Elves are like you: brilliant, astute when it comes to magic, charming, graceful and resourceful. I would have you meet my masters, you would be impressed with them. In fact, we're having a thing this weekend, and I was wondering…_

To come to Kael'thas when his schedule was clear, when he was inside his room, to know about and take advantage of his Soul Link… Someone within Tempest Keep was helping Kil'jaeden to recruit him into the Burning Legion. Kael'thas immediately thought of Advisor Sorn because he made the schedule… but if Kael'thas was wrong, then Advisor Sorn would know that he was communicating with the Burning Legion, even if these scrying orb conversations were entirely one-sided… Kael'thas was honest with himself and accepted that he was, in fact, conspiring with Kil'jaeden in this small way.

_Will you at least answer… it would be good to hear your voice again Kael'thas, have some kind of confirmation, a nod, something?_

Kael'thas winced. Sometimes Kil'jaeden would get on a kick like this and the conversation would turn weird. It bordered on… obsession. Yes, Illidan would be more than jealous if he ever found out another Demon wanted his services. Time to cut the damned thing off…

_Please! Consider the offer for your son, if not yourself, my royal mana pot…_

Kael'thas waved his hand over the bright scrying orb and it flickered out. When he could always just turn the thing off… of course he was truly consorting with members of the Burning Legion.

"Daddy, what's dat?" Belorim had his fingers in his mouth again, and pointed at the now dull scrying orb. He stood in the open doorway.

That gave Kael'thas the shock of his life. His own son… had seen him talking to the Burning Legion. And because he had been morally lax enough to do it, now Kil'jaeden had seen his son!

Kael'thas wordlessly came around the bed, scooped Belorim up in his arms and called for the guards.

_How can you make your mind go blank like that and feel nothing from time to time Kael'thas?_

It was Illidan. Kael'thas stopped everything he was doing. _It's just… practice._

_You are lying to me. Obsessions… you were thinking, focusing your feelings on people incensed with you. Why that? It was not Saturna exactly._

Illidan was clever. In a way he already knew that something was wrong. Kael'thas could not make an excuse for it, when Illidan was so sure of himself and often right at that. The best thing would be to play into his madness once more, rather than deny it. But what half-truth would be distracting enough?

When the guards arrived, Kael'thas ordered them to go and get every last one of his Bloodknights and have them wait outside. Then he grudgingly asked that Advisor Sorn be brought forth immediately.

_What is this all about, Kael'thas?_

_It's… better if I show you._

"Yes, your Majesty? What can I help you with, and so close to the hour of your cabinet meeting might I add…"

"Sorn, I need you to look into something for me. I fear that… someone has been going through my things." Then he slyly added, "…And they always manage to do it while I am not in my room, as if they knew my schedule intimately."

Sorn seemed very concerned about this. "Have possessions of yours gone missing, or—"

"Well, at first I found them displaced, in Belorim's room."

"Ah, well then," Sorn smiled pleasantly at Belorim. "He is your new roomie. And it's natural for a boy the young Prince's age to be curious and so play little games, take things from time to time—"

In his mind, Illidan had already picked up on the problem. He started to snicker…

Kael'thas cleared his throat uncomfortably. He was pleased that it was working, but he really would have rathered not to tell Sorn or Illidan by default, or anyone at all. "Not these sorts of things though. You see, I thought it was Belorim being silly at first as well until… My um…" he nervously rolled the free hand that was not holding up Belorim, "Underwear, started disappearing."

"Your… underthings. Do you mean, night shirts, pajamas, undershirts, that sort of thing?"

"No." To the backdrop of Illidan's outrageous laughter, "My under_pants_."

"Come now, don't call it that. You aren't five. Besides, I'll need a specific description—"

"I don't see how my advisor knowing whether or not I wear boxers or briefs has anything to do with it—"

_Funny, I never thought of you as a briefs man…_

Sorn had got out a pad of paper and started to make notes. "Well, this has all the earmarks of a fangirl attack to me. Oh me, we haven't had one of these since Saturna… such fond memories… Alright now, I'm ready. Were these items taken from the clean clothes or the laundry?"

"What? I'm not going to answer—"

"Kael'thas, be mature. Really! I need to know if this is your local sort of pervert or someone working on a grander scale, who would shuttle the scent and seed—"

"Okay. Ew."

"…of a certain endangered royal line as far as an auction house." Sorn waggled a clipped stylus at him. "You'd be surprised the sorts of things people will buy at the auctioneer these days, especially since the Goblins and their economy is right next door at Area 52. Also, since the Ball at the Black Temple your following has increased perhaps tenfold, Kael'thas. Now, have you finally worked up the nerve during my tangent? Answer the question so I can know if I need to post guard in your bedroom at night."

"There is no way I would ever let you put a man in my bedroom to watch me sleep…"

_Nothing from you on that, Illidan!_

_Why would you think that of me? I have my own interesting activities to attend to during that time of night, just like you do. I know you understand my meaning, even if your encounters are on a smaller scale and infrequent…_

_Shh!_

Sorn was tapping his pen impatiently on the clipboard.

"Both clean and dirty… Please don't look at me like that, it's not as if it was my idea, Sorn. And that's not the only sort of thing gone missing you know. I don't have many keepsakes saved from my time at the Black Temple, but I sent someone to discreetly retrieve a few things some years ago. There was an old and sealed invitation from Saturna's birthday ball, an empty bottle of Suntouched Special Reserve, a gold nightstand that was a little dented—who would even want that?—and a piece of tile from the Golden Shrine. It was the smallest fleck of pristine gold from near the ruined lei line, not worth anything to anyone really… Except to me, you see."

_I am sorry to hear these things Kael'thas. Someone is being very cruel to you, regarding Saturna. It is no wonder you wanted to hide that from me… I shall also look for the perpetrator, on my end._

It would have been a welcome comfort if Illidan had not been the one to undo her in the first place!

"Oh, my Prince. How unfortunate for you. This is a very unkind thing to have happened, indeed. Tell me, when did these things first go missing?"

Kael'thas told him it was nearly two weeks ago. Sorn instantly called off the names of certain female Bloodknights he added to the list.

"Tempest the Raven, of course, goes right at the top."

"I'm not so sure, Sorn. She didn't seem to me like the obsessive type, just brazen—"

"Sunthraze the Sly goes right underneath that. Between his ill will towards you especially where Saturna was concerned and his compulsive habit of pulling tasteless pranks on other people… General Blaize is also at odds with you, but I seriously doubt he'd take your… That would be very strange indeed, and would get him instantly relieved of duties. Not a smart move on his part at all, you see." Kael'thas agreed with that one. Blaize would never endanger his career, in the same way that he always seemed to get involved with only the sorts of women who could help him get ahead. It was a larger part of his conceit. "The timing doesn't really implicate Bloodknights Pyorin or Fennore. And if I had to check my mental list of potential stalkers of Thalassian Princes…" Sorn mumbled to himself for a bit, then wrote, "One Faltheriel… Darkweaver."

"No, he's dead!"

"Correction. You sent assassins after the ex-Sunfury, ex-Scryer, terrifyingly flirtatious fanboy—or fangirl, one really never knows with him, heh—and they never reported back. And that wasn't because these hitmen you hired were Fel Orcs who don't report to you in the first place… And so could converge upon the man unsuspecting, as I'm sure you understood Kael'thas. You _had_ considered the notion that Faltheriel Darkweaver is in fact alive and well, and still collecting swatches of your hair and your toenail clippings? Not dead but for having been able to kill an entire squadron of fierce Fel Orcs, more powerful than ever?"

Kael'thas rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Ugh… I think I'm getting another migraine."

Belorim stopped smiling mischievously at his father and started to suck his thumb innocently.

_And thank you, by the way, for borrowing and killing off twenty of my Fel Orcs without my permission Kael'thas. Though, I can't really be upset, can I…Not when their fate so clearly serves you right—_

"But that is very far-fetched, nigh impossible really. Please don't worry yourself over it, my Prince. I would bet gold that it is one of those silly Bloodknights. They are the only ones who could really convince your guards to open the doors, what with their sworn blood oaths of loyalty to the Princes, and already living comfortably within the many lines of defense against your enemies, inside Tempest Keep itself. We will find the culprit soon, never you mind."

Sorn had lowered his voice. Kael'thas could just barely see two files of his Bloodknights standing at attention beyond the red stained glass doors. He wasn't fool enough to think that it couldn't possibly be any of them, because of their oaths… but he hoped it wasn't. Kael'thas wanted to be able to trust someone with his life, for once.

"Sorn, wait. Have you any idea at all, a first impression, of whom it could be? Your instincts are very good about these things, and you served my father for many years as well. With my son living here now I don't think I could stand the suspense."

The old white-headed man adjusted his monocle rather scientifically and said with all confidence. "It seems most likely to me that it is a deadly combination of the two most dangerous types of culprit at the top of my list: Bloodknight _and_ fangirl. It is none other than… The angry ghost of Saturna Whiteblade. After all these years she has come to exact revenge for her death. Not by an offensive show of violence, or some clever plot to pry your son or holdings away from you, no, but by childishly stealing your underwear in the night." Then Sorn started smiling. "To annoy you in this life as she had so excellently in the last, bless her."

_Ha! I like this man._

"That was _not_ funny Sorn."

But the old man was laughing. "And I know exactly what she is so angry about this time around too… It _has _to be that painting!"

"Sorn! There is no… What were you doing looking at that—" Kael'thas' voice flew up at the end.

"My Prince, please, I'm only joking. Naturally, it follows that after knowing you all these years I'm allowed to make one little joke at your expense. And this petty theft business seems like a very minor indiscretion I assure you… Oh, you're referring to the curtained artwork in your bedroom? Well, I went in to get some signed documents one day and you'd left it open. Nothing to be ashamed about, of course. It is a very fine porntrait—err, I mean portrait of the late Lady Whiteblade."

"Sorn. Get out." Kael'thas pointed.

"Oh, I am truly sorry. I did not mean to offend—"

"No, I am not offended. I am ANNOYED! GET OUT!"

_Kael'thas, might I have your advisor? He's altogether brilliant!_

_You _would_ think that. Har har._

Later that day, Kael'thas had a meeting with his cabinet. As requested all his Bloodknights were also in attendance.

Pathaleon the Calculator, an eccentric mathematician led the meeting. He was Kael'thas' scientific Second in Command while Blaize was the military one, and so led all the collective research efforts of Tempest Keep.

Pathaleon flushed almost as red as his fading rust-colored mess of hair—it was always nearly all over the place, falling even into his eyes—and stood when Belorim started talking loudly about his crayons again.

"Really, my Prince… is there anyone who can watch him? We all have important business to discuss with you about the progress we've made this past month."

This interrupted Astromancer Darthalla whose turn it was to speak. The poised woman lowered her handful of crackling pages dotted with constellations and other scriblings and patiently indulged their resident genius and superior. Though, it wasn't exactly clear if Darthalla was as irritated as everyone else by Pathaleon, for the terrifying silver helmet she always wore. The face was consumed by blue void magic that pulled and twisted many infinitesimal writhing black threads of energy from the air. There was no reason to go about dressed for battle all the time, and it wasn't as if the woman were hiding something—it was widely rumored that Darthalla was an exquisite blonde underneath—but Kael'thas didn't chastise her about it either.

Really, all the members of his Cabinet were a bit mad. It wasn't that Kael'thas agreed with their idiosyncrasies as much as he accepted that fellow scholars were prone to oddness as he was. Kael'thas barely escaped the outright societal ostracism of such geek-types largely because of his royal birth… and because his nasty addiction to Demon magic was less apparent when it made him such an outrageously successful warlock. Well, Kael'thas' recent misstep into enslavement by the very Demon Lord who'd become obsessed with him aside. So, for the most part, these other scholars weren't so lucky in life as Kael'thas had been so he indulged them. Therefore, this was his Cabinet: 'an apple full of bookworms' as Illidan liked to call it.

Though Pathaleon complained, everyone else was delightfully absorbed in Kael'thas' son. Each of them had drawings Belorim the artist made. All were of his father, Belorim didn't want to draw anything else, though they had asked. He asked them for more crayons in turn. No one had any, so Belorim continued to draw only his father. That there had been any interaction with the child at all during the meeting most likely frustrated Pathaleon the most: no one was paying attention.

"The young Prince, my son, has a right to be here, to witness this." Kael'thas shifted weight and adjusted his son in his lap. Belorim was really too big to always be in his father's arms or his lap, but Kael'thas seemed to be ignoring that because he liked interacting with his son. It made him seem an awkward parent though. "Please, go on, Astromancer Darthalla."

Pyorin, Sunthraze, and Fennore stood just beyond the meeting table wearing red Sunfury armor on Kael'thas' right. Lady Liadrin stood just behind him. Tempest and Daphne stood at attention on his left, hands resting casually over their weapons. Eight more Bloodknights in black plate lined the walls of the ovular Ready-Room. The Ready-Room was on a level above Kael'thas' apartments. It wasn't much larger than the long round table and its chairs in the first place to encourage a sense of privacy, but with all these extra guards it was less than cozy.

"Do the Princes of Quel'thalas really need so very much protection!" Pathaleon shouted over gentle-voiced Darthalla only a moment later.

"Our Prince is wise." Darthalla spoke up and defended herself at last. She spoke and gestured elegantly. "Perhaps we were only used to three Bloodknights before, but while we all become adjusted to each other, it makes sense to have a little extra security."

"Suck up." Warden Mellichar of the Arcatraz coughed under his breath. Though he wore his sandy hair cropped close, he was also badly in need of a trim like fellow introvert Pathaleon.

"Queen of Quel'thalas." High Botanist Freywinn of the Botanica coughed under his breath next. At least his 'I'm stuck in my lab all day without access to the sun' look could blend in with the carefree druid-style get up. Notably, the shoulderguards decked with actual twigs and leaves that he supposed were cool. Also the man's eyes were definitely bloodshot, to which Kael'thas was the only one who wasn't disturbed.

Astromancer Darthalla suddenly had her papers in a deathgrip. One imagined that she blushed…

As usual, Kael'thas hadn't heard them. "Sit _down_, Pathaleon. No need to get so animated when it's only me, when you get right down to it. Please, what are your results, Darthalla?" a special smile flickered on Kael'thas' face at the end of that. None of his cabinet missed it and they all rolled their eyes at the lone female member of their elect group. She was the Prince's favorite, though exactly how she'd become that way wasn't proven yet. As far as anyone knew, Kael'thas hadn't pursued any woman since Saturna died, which raised several uncomfortable questions about how he got along…

"Yes my Prince. Pathaleon helped me with the calculations, and the gravitational pull on that star suggests there is a class E planet, another habitable realm within feasible reach of Tempest Keep. The climate is warm enough to support the sort of life we know, there must be liquid water… the Blood Elves could easily colonize it."

"A whole planet to ourselves… I love the idea, Darthy."

_Or do you love her,_ Mellichar grumbled under his breath. The other two men started snickering.

"Warden Mellichar, would you like to be strung up by your toes and then set on fire? Because that can certainly be arranged." Kael'thas glared at him.

Darthalla nervously cleared her throat and continued, "And in light years, it isn't so far away. If we finish repairing the Keep's navigation systems, we could actually travel there soon, and explore. Colonization efforts might possibly happen within the year if we're especially efficient."

Kael'thas had to stop himself from smiling at her so much after the report was long done and Darthalla seated again. "Thank you for your report, Darthalla. It seems the natural remedy for our racial addiction is coming along, perhaps the pilgrims we send there can benefit? Pathaleon, there should be a collaboration on that front between Freywinn and Darthalla. I want you to oversee it. Furthermore the other astromancers seem well on the way to resolving the energy crisis which can help protect the pilgrims once they get there… good, all very good." After jotting down some notes for himself, Kael'thas glanced up at a red glowing scrying orb set at the center of the table. A flickering image of a darkly scowling Eredar woman and a panicked Blood Elf man who kept mumbling about severed Draenei heads was projected within. "Neither Sironas nor Matis the Cruel have made _any _progress on either salvaging or destroying the Exodar, so that won't be any help to us." Kael'thas looked very annoyed. "But for the most part, good job everyone. And speaking of the navigation system, how are we doing on that, Pathaeleon?"

Kael'thas sounded a little disappointed at having to acknowledge the man at last. Everyone else fidgeted in their chairs. Pathaleon always went last because he was so annoying and long-winded.

"String you up by your toes!" Belorim suddenly cried out when Pathaleon stood. It was a fairly good impression of his father, and he looked just as angry, with his little nose all scrunched up.

Everyone laughed. Pathaleon recognized it for what it was, revenge for his comment earlier. "Yes, my young Majesty." Was all he could really say to that, while Kael'thas was watching.

"I was not able to complete the repairs scheduled for this week." Pathaleon frowned a little, "But the good news is, I think I found out why. You see, the power couplings below the warp engine are smaller than I anticipated, more reminiscent of Gnomish Engineering than Goblin Engineering because I believe they don't have an artillery function, as some greater part of a weapons system, or a motorized engine even. It's as if, in a flash of clairvoyant brilliance, the Naaru considered the Time-Space Continuum, realized that light and heat are the same as energy, combined these theories…"

Everyone zoned out while Pathaleon spoke. Belorim began to hum loudly over his coloring once more. Kael'thas smiled at the picture his son drew.

"... Tempest Keep could be made to travel in _time_, not space! Isn't that exciting?"

"You talk too much." Belorim said, rather seriously for a little boy.

Pathaleon raised his eyebrows. Everyone burst into loud guffaws.

Kael'thas had to cover his mouth. "Pathaleon, have a seat. I think you're through, by royal decree."

"But! This is the singular most amazing discovery in our history! Blood Elves might not be able to travel in space, but we _can_ travel in time! All that is needed are a few adjustments…"

"Pathaleon, everything is a once in a lifetime discovery with you. And I'm not prepared to fight a war with the Bronze Dragonflight." He frowned.

_I'm already supposed to be fighting one with you, aren't I, Illidan? _Kael'thas couldn't resist taking a shot at him through the Soul Link.

_I'm not crazy, Kael'thas. We ARE brothers, and Malfurion your soul-double. He IS a dark agent of Ysera, sent to raise an army of green dragons on Azeroth to fight the bronze ones…_

Because he was in a meeting, Kael'thas couldn't be faulted for thinking over Illidan, which was as good as telling him to 'shut up', a rare treat for the enslaved Blood Elf Prince. He smiled and said,

"No, I don't think we'll be encouraging that notion around here Pathaleon, we already serve a fairly demanding evil Demon genius. Thanks to all of you for reporting in. Meeting adjourned."

His Cabinet gathered their things to leave. Kael'thas instantly turned to Belorim and began to play him.

Through the Soul Link, Illidan didn't seem happy to have been thwarted, but on rare occasions, he did indulge his once-friend. Kael'thas had noticed that it was happening more often than not these days, and had every intention of taking full advantage of Illidan's guilt to eek what comfort he could out of this horrible captivity.

After the Cabinet meeting, Kael'thas went back to his apartments to take lunch with his son. The Bloodknights were momentarily dismissed at lunch-time, because the Sunfury Guards could watch his doorstep for an hour or so.

_At lunch…_

Kael'thas tried not to roll his eyes too much when he heard guards announce General Blaize. The muted red silhouettes of men saluting and posturing through the doors was a little over-enthusiastic in his opinion… They never did that for him.

"My Prince," Blaize entered and bowed.

There was a fine dinner table set up in the room just off of Kael'thas' office but he and Belorim never used it. Both of them sat sprawled out on the red couch eating warp burgers. The bite-sized warp stalker steaks weren't exactly a delicacy for Princes of Quel'thalas. Belorim liked junk food and his father was secretly relieved that he didn't have to make his son eat right, when he disliked vegetables himself.

Kael'thas set his plate down on the black coffee table, next to his feet. "Well, I'm sort of casual right now, if you'll excuse all this, General."

"Oh no, no. What is there to excuse? It's amusing actually. Why the two of you don't look like royalty at all." Oh, there was spite in that to be sure.

"She doesn't like you." Belorim pointed at Blaize with sticky fingers and kept munching away.

"Excuse me?"

Kael'thas cleared his throat. "Let's go into the dining room and talk business, shall we Blaize? Belorim, I want you to eat all of that."

"Mmph." Belorim half said and started making his sandwich soar and somersault like a phoenix.

When they got into the next room Kael'thas had a seat but Blaize resisted. "Did Saturna's son… just insult me?"

"He's my son too, Blaize."

Well, that didn't make Blaize feel better about it.

"Technically it was Belorim's imaginary friend. _She_ just happens to be the reason behind lots of things that Belorim breaks or filches by accident. Now that I've finally started to discipline him, he manages finds a scapegoat."

"Your son steals—"

"Everything is his anyway. And what do I care if Belorim takes some of my old clothing into his room…"

"He steals your clothes. Why?"

Kael'thas winced at accidentally recalling the embarrassing events of that morning. "Well… there are theories… but I'm confident that it's because Bim just got his own room. After I tuck him in at night I think he misses me. Seeing my clothing around is probably a comfort, as if it was still my room we shared. You see, I'm sort of messy… Anyway." Kael'thas tried to get back on track, "Of course when I ask, it's the fault of this imaginary friend of his. But I think Belorim's just embarrassed because he's lonely in his own room without his father. He's so little, if you can imagine… It must feel like a great big step to have a room to yourself for the first time."

Kael'thas tried to smile it away. Blaize was disturbed.

"I regret asking. Clearly it was none of my business for a good reason."

"He's just a little boy, you can only be so hard on him—" Kael'thas left off defending his son, to Blaize of all people. "Though, you do have a point about the second part. Now, why have you interrupted my lunch?" Kael'thas cleared his throat. "That is… may I inquire as to your… pleasant dropping in?"

Blaize smirked. As usual, Kael'thas was trying very hard to be nice to him.

At last Blaize took a seat. "I see that Lady Liadrin has spoken to you also, about being more civil."

Kael'thas felt self conscious. "Well… It's just something I'm trying, actually. For the good of the Sunfury, of course."

"Turning over a new leaf, are you? You're not afraid it's too late, Kael'thas? There are quite a lot of people in Outland who have their doubts already you know."

"How would you know that? Are you listening to them?"

"No, I only meant—"

"Then that's something else that shouldn't be any of your business."

Both men glared at each other, then eased back into their chairs.

"Liadrin reminded me of something else as well, Kael'thas. Lately, I've been letting our personality clashes take precedence over business. Rather than have an awkward conversation with you—much like this one, about something important—I tend to ignore your controversial decisions. And that only ends up hurting all of us here at Tempest Keep."

"Are you saying that you would like to question my authority more often?"

"Yes."

Kael'thas set his jaw tight and tapped fingers loudly on the table.

"My Prince, I feel compelled to do so only because your commandments are so confusing… Over the last three years the Sunfury have been making exceptional progress against the Burning Legion here in Netherstorm. The enemy has been reduced to only a few forge camps. My scouts know exactly where they are, they know their weaknesses… The army was all but on the verge of stamping those Demons out when you suddenly called us back two weeks ago. By all rights, I really shouldn't be here sitting around and getting fat off Mess Deck food. I should be out there, fighting for my country. But you called for retreat and then never explained yourself. Now, I've given you adequate time to enjoy your son—"

"What exactly are you accusing me of, Blaize? Stupidity, laziness, conspiring with the Burning Legion? Is this what you think of your Prince?"

"That depends. Does the raise in your voice mean you'd like to conveniently accuse me of treason?"

Another stalemate.

Kael'thas folded arms on the polished mahogany table and leaned forward. "Right now, the Legion is not an immediate threat."

"The hell it isn't—"

Kael'thas warned Blaize to keep his swearing down with Belorim in the next room, but Blaize was convinced that was just an excuse to control the conversation. Especially when Kael'thas was known to swear explosively on the regular.

"Do you know who is really threatening Quel'thalas right now, Blaize? The Scryers hiding out in Area 52 who keep sending mercenaries to sabatoge my manaforges. Do you know how expensive those are to maintain, to train new technicians and engineers every time—"

"I'm your General Kael'thas. I do happen to know these things. Now, let me tell you something. It is far more expensive to retrain a Sunfury soldier who goes soft sitting around in Tempest Keep twiddling his thumbs. The lax Sunfury soldier focuses all his energies on scheming a way to earn tokens for The Rave or worse, picking fights over who will take one of your new pretty Bloodknights to bed. If he's not doing that, then he's drinking or the Sun forbid—engaging in illegal games of chance with that Pyorin and his Darkmoon Faire card ring he has going… The nobler of my men get restless with nothing to fight. They eventually, given enough free time, realize that they hate it here in Outland, and furthermore that they hate their Prince. Is that what you want, mutiny? I say send them to the manaforges if energy finances can't be expended on the Burning Legion camps. Give them something, Kael'thas!"

He seethed, "Keeping the soldiers disciplined is not my job. Or, have you forgotten?"

Blaize made a fist. It looked like he wanted to slam it on the table, but he gave a tight smile instead. "Admit that you are helping the enemy. This strategy of yours makes no sense unless you want to make it easier for the Burning Legion to gain a foothold here."

Kael'thas remained calm. "They pull back from my manaforges when we pull back from their camps. Hadn't you noticed?"

Blaize enunciated every word of this. "As a loyal servant of your Majesty, I assumed that was by default, not by design. Unless you know more about what is going on in the Legion than I do."

Kael'thas went back to glaring at Blaize and drumming impatient fingers on the table. "I lost my father, my country, and my throne to servants of the Legion. How dare you sit there and snipe at me because of Saturna and our son, and pretend like this conversation has anything to do with your job."

Blaize stood. "That is wrong of you to say! You know very well what I want. I need to see progress around here, just like everyone else. We've been away in Outland for three years and accomplished nothing!"

"The racial addiction is more or less cured, Silvermoon City is being restored with the spoils of conquest, the Blood Elves have made powerful allies in Lord Illidan, and Lady Vashj. The Horde unwittingly supports Quel'thalas on Azeroth. Oh, yes and there was the successful expedition to Netherstorm and the conquest of Tempest Keep, the acquiring of precious Naaru technologies… I could go on, you understand. No Blaize, we have accomplished a great deal for our people. At least that is what I see. You seem to be focused on what was lost. Confused about things and people you never really had—or deserved." Kael'thas smiled wickedly. "Let me be the first to advise you to let go the past."

"You dare throw Saturna in my face—I lost her too. You were the one who took her away!"

"Saturna has everything to do with me and nothing to do with you or your work. You'd do well to remember that. Now please, I have to finish having lunch with _our_ son."

Blaize stepped directly into Kael'thas' way when he walked to the door. "Do you miss her? The woman you murdered with your apathy and avarice."

"If you don't move—"

"Do you miss her Kael'thas? It's an innocent question." Kael'thas tried to answer but then, "And you lost your father too, didn't you. That wise and noble king. It's very sad actually, to be responsible for both deaths because you were fucking around someplace else that you weren't meant to be! And somehow, the universe sees fit to let you raise that beautiful woman's son… Why should you of all people be a father!"

Kael'thas was angry. He reached past Blaize and slammed the door shut, locked them both in.

"So you're going to kill me at last, is that it Kael'thas? Go ahead, try setting me on fire again. Torture and murder your own General. Then everyone will know, absolutely, how unworthy you are."

"Don't tempt me—"

"She was on the roof that morning three years ago! But do you even care? Saturna tried to kill herself, over you. That is what you did to her. How could you do that to someone else? You think because you are the Prince, you can just ruin people's lives, that you can send my men out there to fight and die against the Legion and then steal victory from them at the last moment on a whim? If there was any justice in this world people like you would be rounded up and—"

Kael'thas shoved Blaize into the door. He slammed against the frame but dug his heels in and made fists ready to hit his Prince back. Kael'thas wanted it so bad, to provoke this man, to reach through the Soul Link and take more of Illidan's Demon magic just like the last time, and beat his own General bloody…

But Kael'thas could not stand to be that man anymore.

"Soldier. You will speak with a counselor and get that filth out of your system. Second, you will not speak to your Prince again about personal matters that have got nothing to do with the important work of saving the lives of innocents back home and protecting the innovators, the very brainchild of Thalassian advancement here in Tempest Keep. Furthermore, if you ever take that insulting tone with me again—"

Blaize stood straight and tall and stared Kael'thas down. Neither man blinked. "What are you going to do that I can't endure with the help of my men? I am not afraid of you anymore Kael'thas. You had better prove to everyone very quickly that you haven't been conspiring with the Legion, or you may stand to lose what you've got left of your army."

"How dare you threaten me with some kind of orchestrated mutiny! I should have you replaced—"

"Depose me and there will definitely be mutiny. I can assure you of that. But… do your job, get us home from this ridiculous exile… and you should be just fine. This is not over." Blaize snatched the door back open and left.

Rather than get angry, Kael'thas chose to think. He never observed Blaize to throw his weight around like that before. With other soldiers yes, and with women… but Blaize had unquestioned power over all those people, nothing to lose if he overstepped. For some reason, Blaize was convinced that he had leverage over his Prince as well. Was it really as simple as mutiny? And if that, to what end? Where would Blaize even go with the rest of his army? Certainly not back to Silvermoon without the Prince to endorse his actions. Unless… unless Blaize was certain that what Kael'thas thought or felt at that point would be forfeit.

All this transformation in a matter of days… of course Lady Liadrin was a part of it somehow. That he couldn't even trust her any longer stung. But even she had said, that it was lonely at the top… Kael'thas tried to take comfort in that it implied Blaize had been fully afraid of him once before. However, a fearless man was a terrible force to be reckoned with. Illidan Stormrage in all his unabashed nefarious glory was an excellent example of this.

_You should have killed Blaize three years ago when you had the chance, Kael'thas. I told you to do it but you did not want to listen to me._

_Were you ever planning to tell me what Blaize knew about Saturna, how far you pushed her to the brink?! And you stood before me the other day, swearing that you did nothing wrong!_

To more of Illidan's excuses, "Damn you Illidan… Get out of my head!"

When Kael'thas was again calm and got back to his son he found that his warp burger was gone. Belorim didn't want to admit that he did it, even though the evidence was all over the front of his little red shirt.

"She told me to do it! I'm not bad…"

Kael'thas sighed at his stomach rumbling and sank back down on the couch. "I sure hope Lady Liadrin knows what she's doing, because right now, it seems she is making more trouble than what I started out with. Now, it feels like I have to keep an eye on them both. Ugh, I can't take any more of that man's attitude… If I can't turn to Illidan, or my own General or even my Bloodknights… Where in the hell are we going to go?" Kael'thas couldn't admit to how deeply the words about Saturna and his father hurt. Not in front of his son.

"Daddy? Don't be sad. Okay… I sorry I eated your burger."

Kael'thas hugged Belorim and kissed his forehead. It was about the only clean place on the boy's body now, after lunch. "I do so deserve you. Even if the world was against us… I'd just burn it all away."

He remembered the promises of Kil'jaeden without assigning feelings to them. Lied to Illidan now through the vile collar in that one way and felt free. Kael'thas knew that it was wrong, but what if it was true? What if the Legion was stronger? What if they did respect certain races like Blood Elves? And if they could promise to protect him and his son from Illidan, and Blaize, from the Shatar, the Alliance, the Horde and everyone else…

If that ever became true, Kael'thas knew that there would be no choice.

"Daddy, she doesn't like it when you get this quiet."

"I'm sorry but… She doesn't exist Belorim. So in situations like these, her opinion does not matter. I am your father. I am the only one responsible for you… And to hell with everyone else."


	8. Five meetings Part Two

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Seven: Five Meetings and Seven chilling Discoveries, Part II**

There's only one of each left!

**Do cheaters prosper? Don't hate the playa, hate the game…**

_And in another part of Tempest Keep there was one more important lunch meeting…_

"Guess what time it is, family o'mine?" Pyorin asked.

"Yes, Father Tank." The four Nexites teased after the eight other Bloodknights got off the elevator at the Mess Deck level. Today, yellow phoenixes turned somersaults inside The Core and chirped in innocent magical voices.

The Nexites ascended a few blurred levels while Sunthraze winked at Tempest, who'd lit a cigarette faster than should have been mortally possible during the quick ride. Tempest rolled her eyes then nudged Daphne and whispered something in her ear. With that direction, Daphne carefully peered over her shoulder to see Pyorin—back to the group—ogling her reflection in the glass wall behind them. When she startled and moved, Pyorin looked up and turned around to find everyone else staring at him.

Sunthraze folded his arms and said, "Real smooth Tankalicious—"

"Sunthraze! You fat-mouthed bastard—"

Loud throbbing music came and drowned out what profanities left Tempest's mouth next. Then the rest hit them like a wave: The thick sweet smell of arcane magic—it would take a Blood Elf to confirm for most people that arcane magic has a smell—the characteristic musk of sweat and alcohol combined, and then a scant view of people laughing and dancing, wearing… It couldn't be clothing, not that short with so many holes in strategic places.

That was Daphne's concern.

Tempest gasped and said right after, "Oh, I _love_ her outfit!"

Fennore, Sunthraze, and Pyorin looked mischievous and grateful before Tempest turned back from the spectacle. The elevator was moving so fast, it had gone as quickly as it had come.

"What _was_ that marvelous—"

Daphne spoke over Tempest, "Does Kael'thas know his soldiers are practically having an _orgy_ on that dark abandoned level?"

Before any of the guys could answer, "Oh Virgin, you know you liked it."

"Alright, so maybe I did." Daphne whimpered. "Tempest, will you take me?"

Pyorin said, "Well actually, I was going to offer—"

"It's called The Rave." Sunthraze cut Pyorin off. "Twenty-four hours of unprohibited debauchery, seven days a week. And free."

"No, that's not exactly true." Fennore raised an instructive finger. "Kael'thas came up with the idea, actually since he has experience… recovering from various addictions. You have to earn tokens to be allowed inside The Rave, and then still more to purchase drinks or arcane crystals. It's meant to boost morale so those aren't hard to get, however. But only the most responsible and exceptional soldiers are given enough tokens by Lieutenants Dacian and Falx to fully enjoy their racial addictions in there. While not out in the field, the mana tap and arcane torrent techniques aren't as effective, you see. So a little downtime every once in a while is encouraged. Unfortunately, we three don't ever get to go though, because neither Dacian nor Falx like us very much…"

"Well, since we're all stuck suffering with an addiction to arcane magic, this rave thing actually sounds mandatory to me." Tempest looked sideways at Daphne. "The universe is trying to send you a message, Virgin."

"You earn the right to have an orgy by being _good_, Miss Slut. That's what _I_ heard."

Pyorin tried once more. "So, Daphne, you were saying that you would you like to go sometime? I could win a few hands and maybe buy us some tokens—"

"Dammit!" Tempest stamped her foot when the elevator finally came to a stop many levels later. The archway opened to a regular looking glass hallway with evenly spaced white doors along the walls. Lady Liadrin's tiny office was supposed to be one of those. "The Lady snatched up General Blaize already, so how am I supposed to get in there?"

"By… behaving yourself, like the rest of us?" Pyorin couldn't resist.

Tempest was lost in her own world now though. She wrapped an arm around Daphne's shoulders, and lovingly rubbed her cheek against the other woman's. Tempest fairly purred like a cat to go with it, she was so happy. "Wait, Blaize has two Lieutenants… Come on Daphs, I'm gonna' need a wing-woman."

The three guys peered down the elevator shaft as both Daphne and Tempest went back down without them.

Fennore boggled, "They aren't about to do… What I think they're going to do when we have a meeting in a few minutes?"

Pyorin and Sunthraze had walked ahead. Clearly Fennore was the only one who didn't know Tempest or Daphne so well by now.

The tiny once storage room was set with a table, a black chalkboard and a few rickety chairs. Several dusty bookbins had been stacked in a corner. Lady Liadrin wasn't there yet but she'd not gone far. A warm teapot and some light sandwiches cut into triangles with the crusts scraped off were freshly set on the table, so maternal. Sunthraze was smiling the whole time they eased into their seats and started eating.

"What in the _hell_ is wrong with you? You've been grinning all morning…"

"There's no clever way to put this Pyorin, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Tempest and I…"

"Oh brother, here we go again…" Pyorin grumbled.

Fennore said, "That fast? Those ladies have been here less than two weeks!"

"It's not 'oh brother' anything. And yes, thank you, I _am_ pretty smooth… She couldn't keep her hands off me, she pleaded with me, begged me, practically begged me." Then he lowered his voice, "I had to put a chain on the door to calm her down…"

Pyorin threw his head back and started laughing. "You liar. That's not Tempest all."

Fennore frowned, confused. "But Pyorin, it's been years since you've dated her. Maybe she's changed?"

"Tempest doesn't change. She'll break you so that she can get more room for her ego… but she doesn't change. As for her taking a shine to you, I don't believe that for a hot minute. That chain on the door is an omen, Sunthraze. I wouldn't take too kindly to it."

"So… _she_ put the chain on the door? Why?"

Sunthraze tried to answer Fennore but Pyorin leaned across the table and spoke first. His chair creaked. "Sunthraze, for your own good, you'd better accept this now: you aren't now, nor will you ever be the man in the relationship, or during the sex or whatever it is you've gotten yourself into. Tempest is crazy. She likes her men to be on the bottom, to be scared out of their minds. The chain was meant to intimidate you. I bet you hopped when you saw that, wondered if she was still there in the room with you, with the door to be locked all strange like that? Well, she's a weaponsmith. She knew how to pull it off and she did it for a reason."

"She's starting to sound like a succubus." Fennore raised an eyebrow.

"Oh shut it." Sunthraze looked bored. "Every woman that you find attractive is _not _automatically like a succubus."

"No, I think you're just afraid to think of her that way, afraid to accept that a Demon woman can be just as attractive as a mortal one."

"Oh, shut up, Fennore!"

"I'm telling you Sunthraze…" Pyorin went on, "Get out now before it's too late. But you know what, I've already said too much, as their superior officer. I'm supposed to be neutral, right? You're gonna' have to learn the horrible truth on your own."

Sunthraze leaned in. "What horrible truth? Come on, you can't just leave it like that, Tankalicious."

Pyorin sat up.

"What did you just call him?" Fennore asked.

Sunthraze smiled. "I'll tell you how I know your dirty little secret Pyorin if you tell me how you know what's coming to me. Deal?"

"If she called you that, then it's already too late for you Sunthraze. The secret is thus: You're pussy-whipped."

Fennore raised his eyebrows. "She's got him wrapped around her little finger, has she?"

"Alright then," Sunthraze grimaced, "I'll keep up my end of the bargain. She was asking for you last night, not me. That's how she came into _my_ room, on the other right." Pyorin blinked. "That's right, I know all your little secrets, the pet names, your favorite positions… but I'm a gentleman, I promised not to tell."

"You have a chance to completely ruin me with your old smart mouth but you're not taking it, because of her." Pyorin leaned over the table again, rapped his knuckle loudly on the wood surface. "Pussy-whipped!"

"No… but that can't be. She didn't call _me_ Tankalicious. And I'll admit, I like brazen women, older women, but none of them ever walked all over me. I won't let Tempest do that."

Pyorin grinned wickedly. "Oh, in that case, she'll find a nickname for you yet. Then you'll know who you belong to."

Daphne strode in the room then with a very innocent look on her face. She kept looking backward to silently indicate that someone was coming, then tapped a finger to her lips. She sat down next to Pyorin, which Sunthraze did not miss getting his teasing look in for.

Tempest was next. The tall woman was nearly bent over in half. Lady Liadrin had her by the long ear.

Fennore and Pyorin started laughing.

"Is it funny?" The Bloodknight Matriarch said to them, angry. "Is it really?"

In unison, "No, Matriarch."

"Let this be a lesson to any of you who think of putting sex before Blood Nexus business. And what is wrong with you, doing it on a glass elevator for everyone to see? And you left your roommate to be the lookout, but I surprised you all and came from the other direction, didn't I? The meeting is starting late because of you two terrible girls!"

Sunthraze opened his mouth in jealous shock.

"It wasn't sex! Just because you're an old fogy and today's kissing looks like your version of sex a gajillion years ago… Ow! Dammit, Daphne, you were supposed to keep Falx from getting ahead into the club, and she walked right past you. Look, Lady, I was just thanking Lieutenant Dacian for taking me and Daphs to The Rave for free. I didn't expect you to come right at us from _inside_. Ouch! Will you stop that, I'm a grown woman, by the Sun!"

"Nate was merely treating me to a drink after his lunch meeting with Kael'thas but that isn't the point. I was on my way to this meeting of the Blood Nexus, so that I could be _on time_. You two horrible girls were selfishly trying to hinder progress."

"Because feeding Bloodknights tea and crumpets is _progress_." Daphne mumbled under her breath.

Lady Liadrin heard it and let go of Tempest with a shove.

"I am _not_ your mother!" she yelled at all of them.

Tempest fell into a chair and the guys blinked. "Especially not to any of you, the most powerful Bloodknights in existence. I recruited you five into this Nexus of Bloodknights for a reason, so that Quel'thalas might have a future _away_ from the manipulative designs of Magisters and the fantastic whims of Rangers. I will _not_ have you making a mockery of our order, secret or no, because you haven't any sense to mind your baser urges." She looked over the group. "It seems that Brother Immortal is the only one here with some sense. It is a shame that no one in their early adulthood has learned that lesson yet."

Sunthraze raised a finger. "Actually, we don't call him a Demon lover for nothing. His woman is called Mavia the Maneater by Illidan's most frightening subjects."

Lady Liadrin looked at Fennore, a fellow ex-priest, in shock and dismay.

He attempted to explain. "You see, we met a few years ago at the Black Temple when she kidnapped me and…"

"No! No more explanations. I, Bloodknight Matriarch Lady Liadrin hereby convene this meeting of Knights of the Blood Nexus. We have some important things to discuss today."

Their faces were a swath of intrigued or bored or disturbed as Liadrin explained what Kael'thas was up to in Outland. Little by little, the Cabinet meeting they'd inadvertently eavesdropped on started to make sense. There were certain things teams of scientists in the Mechanar, the Botanica, and even the Arcatraz were working hard to accomplish for their country. The bad news about it all was maniacal Pathaleon the Calculator was leading the collective effort. The good news of course, was that Kael'thas kept a close eye on him. In a lot of ways the Prince was like an undisputed captain of this dimensional ship called Tempest Keep.

"On the military side of things, Kael'thas oversees General Blaize. Blaize delegates responsibility to his two lieutenants Dacian and Falx." On mentioning them it was hard for Liadrin not to glare at Tempest. "I have my own strategy for maneuvering Kael'thas on that end so I don't want any of you interfering with Blaize, got it? The man is more dangerous than he seems."

To the guys' confused look, Daphne whispered, "It's a fancy way to say that she's cockblocking Tempest and me. Don't mind it."

Tempest eased into a sultry laugh and Liadrin shouted at her for the interruption instead of stealthier Daphne.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am about to ask you to do the most important work of your lives. I won't ask you to take the following tasks seriously because then it would mean I was talking to feckless children and not the responsible soldiers I know you are… deep down somewhere. I trained you all with the help of Saturna Whiteblade, the very first of our sect. As Bloodknights, we are all called to strive towards a mastery over the Light, but what many of our colleagues do is a mere manipulation, akin to magic tricks. Nexites like yourselves are far more capable. In a lot of ways, what the Silver Hand once told Tirion Fordring and Prince Arthas was true: Paladins are servants of the Light. It is an immensely powerful and unforgiving magic that should only be wielded by those who are worthy." She raised her hand to silence objections. "But that is a very limited view. Where did that leave the Silver Hand? The first man I mentioned indulged in his servitude, became ostracized by the very people he sought to protect and is now a bum living in the Eastern Plaguelands." She smirked. "The second reveled too far in the Light's hallowed ferocity and ended up rationalizing his zealotry so far afield that he murdered his father, then our own King, nearly destroyed the land of his allies… and at last sold his soul to the Lich King himself."

"For Prince Arthas, it all began with that terrible sword Frostmourne, but in truth that blade is only a symbol of death and destruction. His own soul was certainly corrupted to have been tempted that far by the Scourge in the first place. Arthas was… another fallen Prince. But fellow Nexites, I raise that terrible example so that you will not be discouraged. Look not at what Prince Arthas and Frostmourne and the Scourge have done to our country and fear that the task of restoring it is too great. We have not lost the war. Our chance to fight the forces working against Quel'thalas is not lost either. Instead, I beg you to look at that dark Prince and that vile sword and see that the battle is still raging on. It is a moral war we fight these days, a battle against apathy and cruelty. Against those people who would spit in the face of our thick and valuable traditions that have kept the Blood Elves—and we truly are no longer Highbourne—thriving at the brink of enlightenment for millennia. The world has gone lax in the shadow of the Legion, and those like us who know firsthand what can be lost through moral ineptitude and incompetent leadership are the only watchdogs, the only ones capable of keeping destruction at bay."

She had brought the Whiteblade. No one realized how significant that was until now. "This is our sword!" She raised the beautiful claymore up overhead. Next, she pointed to the doors, out and beyond to the heart of the Tempest Keep itself. "Kael'thas is our Prince! The Burning Legion is our new threat. Will we allow Kael'thas to indulge in the temptation of this weapon: the tragedy of its past, of the beloved woman borne out of that specific fate—like we are all descended from the destruction in Silvermoon—only to come to Kael'thas' aid and be lost. Will we allow this sword to be a symbol of the Demon Lord who stole Saturna away, or the son that lived and now barely lives at the edge of this very blade? Can we let this sword mean such desperate things to us, and reap a black future with it the way Arthas gave into his Frostmourne?"

She had their full and rapt attention now. "No, Nexites, no. There are rumors that our Prince is being tempted by the Burning Legion, as Arthas was tempted by the Scourge. We aren't Paladins. We aren't sycophants at the mercy of the Light. We are Bloodknights who are willing to take a risk and manipulate that magic, like any school of magic that our people have mastered over millennia. And then we are more. We are Nexites who have fully and completely taken the Light for our own. Recite, Sister Weaver!"

Reflexively, Daphne began what had for so long been a prompt of her Nexite training, not really understanding Liadrin's point at first. She looked at Sunthraze, Pyorin, Fennore, and Tempest in turn. "Hand of Light, Taunt of Light, Divine Inversion, Tempest of Light… Lightweave."

"Yes, Sister Weaver knows our unique Light spells very well. She can use her powers to put them together in any order she wishes and then cast the whole golden conflagration on friend or foe, at a whim. That is the power of the Blood Nexus, the epitome of what it means to be who we are. We have taken the strength of life itself and now wield it responsibly, shrewdly, like a weapon. That is why there can only be consensus or death among us. Acting selfishly with the Light as Prince Arthas did is not an option for us. The Silver Hand coddled and indulged him, knowing what he was. The Blood Nexus will not tolerate you should you fancy self-destruction or world domination." Liadrin laughed spitefully. "Love you as I do, as we all love each other, we value life and the future of our country more. Any of you who tries an Arthas-style approach to being a Bloodknight will be dead before it's done, I can promise you that."

She paused to let that sink in. Liadrin felt they needed to be reminded after the display of foolishness two weeks ago.

"That said, do any of you here doubt that Kael'thas is the key? What he decides to do with his amazing Sunstrider agency will either damn all of our kin, or save the country from oblivion. Well! What is your answer?"

"My Life for my Prince." Pyorin was first. One by one, and Liadrin eyed each of them, the Nexites saluted their loyalty. Everyone was standing now.

"That is… your Prince is your life. Should he fall all of us will fall as well. Therefore, body, and soul, and spirit, Kael'thas must be saved and the time is right now. Have a seat."

Lady Liadrin seated herself as well and got down to business quickly. The tone of the meeting was transformed, and the Bloodknights made an effort to recover from what the ex-priestess had caused to feel like a religious revival.

"Sister Weaver and Father Tank. You have been assigned to help Kael'thas with his heart."

Daphne was alarmed. "You mean… his love life? I don't know about that—"

"Oh that is unfair! I've actually had sex before, it should be me—"

"Tempest the Raven. It is your insistent self-destructive morals that have disqualified you for the position already. And please do not beg me to let you have sex with the Prince of Quel'thalas. You have most certainly been prohibited from it since day zero."

Tempest looked angry but kept her mouth shut.

"Brother Sly, you and Sister Tempest will—"

"Oh hell no! I am not working with her on anything regarding Kael'thas—"

"When it comes to your obvious inclination towards Sister Tempest I believe what you wanted to say was that you have no desire to do _anything_ regarding the salvation of Kael'thas. It is only obvious in your every retort, Brother Sly, and gesticulation that you secretly despise our Prince. But I am going to help you to fulfill the oath you just gave for our country. You see, I was King Anasterian's confessor. I know firsthand that you can be loyal to a monarch without really being his friend, since I had to work with a degree of… professional detachment." Liadrin supposed that the words 'should have' needed to be in that statement somewhere but when she'd already learned her painful lesson regarding Sunstrider men there was no need to feel like a hypocrite, when all this was for their benefit anyway. "However, hating a Sunstrider is not an option. Feel what you want regarding the late Mother Whiteblade, even if that is jealousy that Kael'thas was the last to have her before she left the realm of the living…whatever. But you _will_ respect him. That is why you and Sister Tempest will be Belorim's official babysitters."

She met explosive objection from the two redheads.

"No, I don't want to hear it. Sister Tempest needs to learn firsthand what comes out of the other end of rabid sexual encounters, and so gain a more profound respect for her life and those lives and feelings of others. Brother Sly needs to honor both of his Princes in a kinder, gentler way. I spoke with Kael'thas about it last night and he is relieved to have the help. It is already done."

Fennore was last. He looked more than a little concerned.

"Brother Immortal you are the only one who has already been working to redeem our lost Prince. I congratulate you, and invite you to continue serving as his royal confessor."

"Oh, thank you. I didn't think I could really take on something else in addition to—"

"How is Kael'thas spiritually? Of course, I will be checking in with you on it from time to time."

"I… well he's mostly alright. There was some concern a while back but I talked Kael'thas down from the ledge so to speak… Alright, I'm sorry but I really don't feel comfortable sharing his secrets with you or anyone else to be honest."

Liadrin thought about this. "Well, you are already bound as a full Nexite. I suppose I can trust you completely with that, if it makes you more comfortable. But… you will let us know if there is any cause for worry?"

"Yes, Matriarch."

"Especially where the Burning Legion is concerned. All rumors have a foundation, however slim, in truth of course. Nate and I were just talking about that in fact. During his meeting with Kael'thas he observed something on that tack that I personally find largely subjective. However, he is used to the Court experience, as I was once also a Lady of the Court a lifetime ago... So both of us know not to completely disregard rumors. Is Blaize right? Is there something going on with Kael'thas and the Burning Legion?"

Fennore hesitated. The others were unhappy to see it.

Liadrin closed her eyes. "Well, that confirms it. Kael'thas is involved with the Burning Legion. Fennore, how could you know something like this and not tell any of us!"

"I wasn't exactly… keeping it a secret for him. No, it's not like that, really. He is just… thinking, tempted. It's because of Illidan and the way he treats him. Kael'thas is terrified that he has no other way out, especially because of that collar. Illidan can hear a lot of his thoughts, even his feelings… And then of course, Kael'thas wants revenge for what Illidan did to Saturna. And now, nearly his son."

"How close is he to giving up? Be honest now."

Fennore spoke calmly, and that put everyone else at ease. Clearly he felt sure there was no immediate problem. "When Kael'thas was at the Black Temple he was incredibly spiteful. You all remember that." Pyorin and Sunthraze cautiously nodded. "He's more centered now. Putting revenge first in his life is what made him so dependent on Illidan in the first place and I made sure Kael'thas realized that. He doesn't want that sort of life anymore. As a result, Kael'thas has been trying to let a lot of things go. And despite what you ladies first encountered, his temper has been improved a great deal. Belorim coming into his life has greatly improved that. The transformation that's come over Kael'thas is near-miraculous. The responsibilities of being a father distract him enough from the darker thoughts, and then that child is just so… loving. Kael'thas is a very devoted parent. He surprised me."

Liadrin smiled regretfully. "That Kael'thas is a very kind person deep down but for his recent behavior you didn't see it… could be either good or bad. Though it does mean there is hope. That is the most important thing. Thank you Brother Immortal, and I shall be more than happy to leave you to it. Alright then, your missions have been doled out. Kael'thas will be put at ease as far as mourning the mother of his son is concerned, thanks to Sister Weaver and Father Tank. Sister Tempest and Brother Immortal will see to it that the stress of being a father is relieved somewhat to further along the effort of spiritually unburdening him. Brother Immortal will continue to monitor the Legion situation. Unfortunately, after today's meeting, I just don't see how Knights of the Blood Nexus could have anything to do with Time-Space continuums or colonizing a class E planet, whatever that means… Well, I suppose Kael'thas is on his own in that vein, and I hope he can finish his work for our country on a reasonable timeline. Finally, on the military end of things I am doing everything in my power to make sure that Blaize does not allow the Sunfury to mutiny—as they probably have a right to do, after being in Outland overly long—while we set to work on Kael'thas. And Tempest Keep is beginning to feel to me like a pressure cooker. We're going to have to convince him to come home to Silvermoon very soon, maybe within a month or two… That's as much time as I can foresee buying away from my duties in back home." She lowered her eyes. "Currently, no one is watching my Bloodknights to make sure Rommath's Magisters don't completely corrupt Silvermoon's only police force."

"Oh, and before I forget, we should all welcome Brother Immortal into the Blood Nexus. He is our newest full member." She led them in a round of light clapping. Sunthraze was proud of his protégé and erupted in a loud inappropriate wolf-whistle and a 'go Demon-lover, that's what I'm talkin' about' before Liadrin got irritated and made him stop.

"Yes, however crudely Brother Sly went about it, I do agree we should end this meeting on a light note. Brother Immortal, won't you be so kind as to tell us about your Rite of Initiation? I know the ladies and I have been dying to hear what Saturna came up with for you."

Often Nexite rites were incredibly challenging and dangerous. But when Fennore looked around the room then, he realized that there was camaraderie in sharing the life-changing event, however dark it might have been. His Nexites sisters seemed to welcome him then, encourage him. As always, Sunthraze and Pyorin were mostly nonplused when it came to his adventures. And all his life, Fennore had just been a healer, stuck in the back. It was going to feel so very good, at last, to be taken seriously.

"Well," he did not smile because it wasn't a happy story, though it had saved many lives. "Saturna… she knew that Illidan was plotting against Kael'thas. She knew that she was going to die, that is." He had to pause. "And you could see it all over her face that morning. She looked… so sad. She was maybe out of her mind I think. At first I didn't want to hear what Saturna had to say. It was clear that Illidan had some powerful influence over her. She called him 'perfect' said he was a god… Right after was when she asked me to do it. She told me that she was going to give up her life to save Kael'thas, and not to resurrect her if things went wrong. Because Illidan was going to expect that. Saturna wanted Kael'thas to live and she wanted us to live too. She loved all of us, you see. And it was the only way to get out of it, to let Illidan win."

Fennore looked up to see horror and disgust on the ladies' faces.

Daphne said, "You… Saturna was dead, you even knew it was coming but you didn't resurrect her?"

"Sister Weaver, no." Liadrin intervened. "I don't think that is what Brother Immortal is trying to say. I mean, for it to be a valid rite of initiation into the Blood Nexus, Saturna could not have told you all of that, spelled it out for you. The point is the choice to serve, to sacrifice for country. If you couldn't show us whether or not you're capable of doing that, putting Quel'thalas before your own mastery of the Light, then what would be the point?" Fennore got quiet. Liadrin broke tradition then, called him outside of his earned name. "Fennore. Mother Whiteblade didn't coerce you into passing your rite did she? Did she help you… cheat on your test to join us?"

"She wasn't so obvious about it, at first. But then I asked her if it was cheating and she told me it was. She had to, though. If she left it up to me then I and everyone else would be dead, Matriarch. Saturna wanted Pyorin, Sunthraze, and I to live and she couldn't take a chance with that if I chose wrong. She told me that our lives and our cause to save Prince Kael'thas was more important than some test, and I believed her."

Daphne insisted, "But she wasn't in her right mind. You just told us that Illidan was manipulating her. How do you know that it wasn't Illidan asking you to effectively… kill our Mother Whiteblade?"

"She did it because she loved us. You weren't there, you don't what it was like. I loved that woman like my own sister!"

"Then why did you let her die!" Tempest stood. Sunthraze and Pyorin were unhappy to hear it too, but were less affected. They looked like they'd heard this story before.

"I honored Saturna's final wish, to give her life for her Prince. Then when Illidan asked me to resurrect Saturna or heal the mortal wound she'd given him—which was a trap to test my loyalty by the way, when he already marked her corpse with Naga magic so that the spirit and the flesh could never be reunited—and I chose the Demon Lord of Outland over my Commander, I ensured that our people would not fall prey to someone so powerful..."

Tempest spoke loudly over him, "Then you singlehandedly helped along Saturna's murder—"

Fennore yelled too. It was something he never did and it surprised everyone. "I saved the Nexus! I chose our lives over her life. One for the many, one to save us all. Did I say I was proud of it, that I liked doing it? If Saturna had not told me to, I might have never done it at all. And then who would have helped Kael'thas to retrieve the Whiteblade from the Scryer's Tier? Who would have brought the sword back to Silvermoon where you all could see it and Lady Liadrin could study it? Where would Belorim be if Pyorin or Sunthraze or myself had not survived? Do you even want to think about that, about a life without Belorim Sunstrider? Well I can't imagine Kael'thas without him. I am certain that without that sweet little boy, our Prince would be lost. And I know him better than any of you do."

Fennore was right, but he was also wrong. Everyone sensed it then. The pain of the healer's decision to leave his Commander and friend to die. And at that time, none of them had known Belorim. Fennore took an amazing risk, trusting in Saturna's judgment that great good would come of it. But he was also the most powerful Bloodknight healer in existence. What if he'd tried it? What if by some miracle his power could have surpassed Naga magic and Saturna had lived?

Lady Liadrin came to her own conclusion about that, and decided that she was not going to share it with the others: in the end Saturna Whiteblade had not wanted to live. To wish to die for Kael'thas but not want to live with him—for how could Saturna have predicted that Illidan would put curse her body and make it impossible to revive… Something had been very wrong in that romance, to be sure. It was a terrifying thought.

"Alright, that's enough Fennore. Whether it was official or no… you've joined our ranks. But it won't seem fair to the others. They sacrificed a great a deal to become full Nexites with access to each other's powers. And this was without the comfort of knowing absolutely that it was the right or wrong decision to make. Therefore, I am going to offer you a compromise."

She stood. "Show your commitment to this organization by recruiting another member. That is something everyone else has also been called to do. I begat Mother Whiteblade. Mother Whiteblade begat Father Tank. Father Tank begat Sister Tempest. Sister Tempest begat Sister Weaver. Father Tank also begat Brother Sly and Brother Sly begat you. Mother Whiteblade also begat Brother Unmaker but he is something else altogether…" she sighed. "But do you see the pattern here? When a new Nexite is recruited, there can be no question as to the sire's loyalty. If you wish to be accepted in name and in spirit, you will do the greatest service ever asked of a Nexite: devote another talented soul to the cause of Prince and country. Will you do this?"

"Of course I will." Fennore saluted.

"Bring that individual before me for the initiation rite. And I can happily recommend several of the eight Bloodknights I brought here with me to Outland if you wish. Until then, I do not want anyone being cruel to Brother Immortal for the terrible choice he had to make. We cannot know if it was right or wrong, but at least in name is he our brother. And I will not stand for any of my Nexites to hate his or her brother because he loved our late Mother Whiteblade so much as to follow her will unflinchingly."

Awkwardly, they each thanked Fennore and gave their condolences. The show of love and recognition was three years late, but Fennore looked relieved to have it at last.

When Lady Liadrin left the room and the meeting finished, Sunthraze got Tempest's attention and nodded at the door.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" She rolled her eyes.

"I'm inviting you back to my room, so we can fool around again before the lunch hour is over. Though, I _was_ trying to be discreet."

Pyorin pulled on Fennore's arm, encouraging the departing man to wait, and to watch.

"Listen here, Shortstuff…"

"Ah! There goes the pet name…" Fennore eagerly pointed out. Sunthraze looked ready to hit him.

"What we did the other night was… _interesting_, but—"

"Interesting! You were all over me!"

"Besides the fact that I thought you were someone else," she eyed Pyorin, "and was drunk off my ass, _and_ that you were lying there like a flat board, of course I was all over you. I had to be to make it halfway work."

Daphne giggled. "Oh, that was mean Tempest."

"Those girls… are so bad." Fennore worried.

"Anyways, I wouldn't invite me anywhere anymore, Sunthraze the Sly, not when I wouldn't invite you to roll over my bed again if it was on fire."

"So that's it! Wham bam, thank you… Sunthraze? And I'm a damned catch! What is _wrong_ with you?"

Pyorin walked out of the room, sounding bored. "That was the part where you were supposed to skillfully insult her the way you always do, and walk away with some degree of pride. Poor, poor… Shortstuff."

Sunthraze could only watch, bewildered, as the woman he wanted strutted out of the room triumphantly followed by her friend. He kept opening his mouth to say something, but the fear of losing what little chance left with Tempest overwhelmed him.

Fennore said, "I think I understand what Pyorin means now, by pussy-whipped."

Sunthraze turned on him, but not before Tempest poked her head back in. "By the way, I want my chain back. I need it tonight. Really soon."

"For what?!"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm getting me some Rave tokens, duh. Now be a good little Shortstuff get it fast and just leave it by our room, mmkay?"

Fennore cleared his throat. "I hope you don't pummel me for asking this, O Fearsome One, but a certain account of your night with Brother Sly has left me very curious. Do you use that chain for… What I mean to ask is, are you into…" he flicked his wrist about, "Are you the sort who likes to do the binding of a man's wrists, chaining him down, whipping him, that sort of thing?"

Tempest smiled at Fennore. "As I said… Sunthraze, that's my good chain, and I'm gonna need it back." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Now."

Sunthraze pushed past her. "If I get it quick, then can you show me… You know, before your date?"

One could hear Tempest's rich mocking tone from down the hallway. "I'm not a warlock, Sunthraze. I don't need a small man-pet that chatters in my ear to keep me happy. I just want my damned chain back!"

"Why is you ordering me around like this so hot…"

Alone in the meeting room, Fennore rolled his eyes. "Well, at least I've finally got confirmation that I'm normal. Or wait," he scratched his chin. "Does the fact that I'm going for the real thing with a succubus woman make me worse… No, I fought hard for this small peace of mind. I'll just enjoy it." Then, "I wonder if Tempest will let me borrow her chain, for Mavia… dammit. Oh well, I'll try and be normal again tomorrow." He sighed.


	9. Attack of the Porntrait!

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Eight: Attack of the Porn-trait!**

Sunthraze held his tongue until he could see that Kael'thas and Fennore had got well into their muted conversation out on the balcony. Then, he edged away from the red glass doors stenciled with elegant frosted swirling flame designs. In a sliver of clear glass, Kael'thas waved his arms about, animated while Fennore tried to calm him down.

Tempest sat on the red couch in Kael'thas' living room and propped her feet up on the low marble table. A cigarette was already lit and hanging out the side of her mouth.

"You! I haven't anything nice to say to you Tempest, you crazy, tattooed, good for nothing—"

"Can I draw?" Belorim asked.

Sunthraze blinked. He'd forgotten that the boy was even in the room. "Sure, knock yourself out. Um… in fact, why don't you draw in_your_ room. That's what a big boy would do, stay in his own room while the adults chat."

Belorim ran so fast in the other direction, all they heard was his high pitched delighted screams and a streak of red, and gold bowl haircut.

"Stop being a wuss, Sunthraze. We had sex by accident, I never intended to pursue you. The other night didn't change anything between us. You never heard of 'having a good time?'"

"It didn't end like an accident! You saw who I was, you said that I could get another chance if I earned it… I keep trying to be clever and win you over, but why are you pretending like I don't exist?"

"Do you?" She got up and strutted over to him, concealed weapons clinking. Her axe and sword had been tossed onto the slick black coffee table. It worried Sunthraze that she had taken all that off and was still armed. "Here, let me check." She huffed smoke out of her nose, took the cigarette in hand between two gently crooked fingers and then, very slowly reached for him with her other hand.

She pinched him in the arm, hard.

"Ow! You know what, you're such a bitch, Tempest! That's the conclusion I've come to."

Tempest didn't start at the insult. She remained very close to Sunthraze, who rubbed his arm, looked down at him. "You know what… your hair isn't that bad, really." Cigarette still cocked in the air, she reached down and ran her fingers through his wild orange ponytail.

"That your natural color, Brother Sly?"

"Yes. And yours?"

She smiled. "No."

"What's your real color then?"

She laughed coyly. "I'm not going to tell you that. If I'm a blonde, then I'm a ditz. If I'm a redhead, then I'm wild, a brunette…" she paced while she smoked, "Then maybe I'm smart, or too brainy, too much trouble."

"Those are just stereotypes."

"None of which apply to me. Because, when people look at me they see a ridiculous shade of red. They know it's not my true color. That's all they really need to know."

Tempest took a final drag of her cigarette and then, after looking around and seeing no ashtray, grabbed her ankle and put it out on the bottom of her boot.

"You're so… butch." Sunthraze shuddered.

"A butch bitch… I like it." She sat back on the couch.

"If it wasn't for that enticing voice, those curves… the allure you seem to possess no matter what, even when you're stuffing your mouth with food at the table… All I can think is, 'I want to see her eat my chocolate cake. No, I want to feed it to her.' I end up getting cake every night, just for you."

She smiled up at him. "You think those things? How sweet… and I thought I was a terrible slob."

"Yeah, you _are_ that. I'm not arguing that point." Cringing, he pushed her weapons far down the coffee table with a fingertip. Even so, he cut himself and put the finger in his mouth and sat down across from her.

Tempest watched Sunthraze nurse his hurt.

"Do you… know what I'm thinking now, watching you suck on that finger?"

Sunthraze froze. "You've got to be kidding me."

Tempest dry-washed her hands. "Come on… let's just do it. You know that I like you."

"You don't act like it!"

"Shh… it's part of the fun. By the way, you don't tease me anymore."

"I thought you'd hate me if I kept being sly with you… like that night."

"So I lied back then. It actually was pretty clever that you tricked me into sleeping with you, without even lifting a finger."

"I_told_ you!"

She reached over, took his hand and kissed the sore finger. "And you're sweet. There aren't any gentlemen anymore, you know? You hold the door open for me, you offer to carry my bags though I clearly don't need it. And I know you must have bragged to the guys about our night together but you never told them everything... just like you promised."

Sunthraze closed his eyes and said, "Lucia… I lost what I was going to say. I can't even think straight around you."

"Then don't think. Act. Right here, and right now. Say, Sunthraze. Ask me the way that I like, in that charming way… that makes me want to beat the living snot-piss out of you."

"That is the foulest thing I've ever heard anyone say, especially a lady. Do you know that? Someone should clean your mouth out with soap. _I_should be the one who gets do it, then do the rest of you." Sunthraze sat next to Tempest and kissed her.

"No, baby. You still haven't said anything—"

"Don't have to. I can tell… I've become Mister Right now, haven't I?"

"Uh huh." She sat in his lap, and they kissed again.

"Thought so. And may I also say that you have excellent taste in men." Sunthraze wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Oh, shut up."

"With pleasure." He kissed her more deeply. She went a step further and tugged at his red armor. Sunthraze slipped his fingers just inside her black plate, began to work it off. Kissing eagerly, quietly, they lay down together on the couch. Tempest reversed them at the last moment, and got herself on top.

Sunthraze whispered to her. "One of these days, you are going to let me have you… instead of you just taking from me."

Tempest looked uncomfortable. "I'm not doing that."

"Listen, Tempestwhatever… Let's have sex and get fired from being Belorim's babysitters first… then we'll talk about your commitment issues later." Sunthraze then took hungry handfuls of her buttocks and helped her to ride him as quietly as they could manage. "By the Sun, you're beautiful…"

"… So you saw right through my little charade, huh? Do you mind that maybe I don't really like you?"

Sunthraze worked to focus. "Maybe I'm lying too. I want to get fired also… And if I can rock your world while I'm at it… leave you wanting more."

Her breath diminished to ragged gasps. "You have a lot of confidence in your… abilities… Mmm, Mister Sly."

"Oooh… can that be my new nickname?"

"Not on your life. Also, Shortstuff, you talk too much."

Outside on the balcony, Fennore separated his wide-eyed gaze from the room and turned back to a distraught Kael'thas.

"… and ever since then, it has been one rejection after another. No one genuine, no one kind, until Saturna. Sometimes it feels like… I'm afraid to stop thinking about her."

"Kael'thas," Fennore had to look away from what he saw Sunthraze and Tempest doing through the scarcely private glass a second time. Kael'thas looked out into the dark starry night. The evening was the only time he had for his counseling sessions. "Have you ever considered that after all this time, you're obsessing over Saturna on purpose? We all know how intensely she loved you. At the time, you didn't seem as crazed as she was. And she _was_ crazed. She was probably the biggest Kael'thas fangirl that ever was. You couldn't return that sort of affection even if you wanted to. For her, that fixation had been built up over a lifetime, was based in real events you were a part of—whether you knew it or not—that meant a lot to her, formed her as an adult. Maybe… you're obsessing over Saturna now, so that you can still feel that special kind of love she had for you. But my Prince, I hope you understand that no matter how badly you want her, how passionately you project about the past… it's all one-sided. Saturna is dead."

Kael'thas leaned over the gold railing. The constant wind that rushed about Tempest Keep whipped his long hair around.

"That must be it. Do you know… there was actually a time when I told her she was out of her mind for loving me? That it was unhealthy? And then it got her killed…"

"Illidan killed Saturna. Not you. It's as simple as that." Fennore crossed his arms. "But I didn't come here to reminisce with you about her, that only aggravates your problem. I think you should seriously consider dating again."

"No… I couldn't. And besides, Belorim—"

"Belorim is a strong little boy. But he is only as strong as his father. If you neglect your mental health, don't feed your spirit, you can't be there for your son. And he needs you."

Kael'thas laughed and scratched his head. "I didn't think you'd spin it that way."

"What is there to spin? If you don't have sex soon, you're liable to burst. I don't see how you've gone for so long…"

"Fennore! I don't want to talk about this."

"I really can't leave here unless you assure me that you're going to take care of all your needs… and so maybe I'm also fact-finding a little for Pyorin and Daphne."

"Well, at least Lady Liadrin was honest about her motivations this time around. Obviously, I'd see right through another bunch of Bloodknights trying to 'save me.' Not that the baby-sitting and the counseling and whatnot isn't welcome. But… It's my life and I'm not making any guarantees."

"You're skirting the question, Kael'thas. Come on, you can tell me what's really been going on. It's my job to make sure you're alright."

"I'm fine, Fennore. I'm a grown man, I know how to look out for myself."

Fennore roamed over to the most concealed portion of frosty stained glass, to help shield what he was beginning to hear coming from inside Kael'thas' living room.

"I bet I'm the last person you'd ever expect to tell you this, but I have to say it, because I'm worried about you. A succubus is not a woman."

Kael'thas straightened up. "You can't be serious—"

"Don't play dumb with me." Fennore put hands on his hips. "One can only have a relationship with someone who has chosen you, whom you have chosen back. That has to be a real attraction, based on actual personality traits that appeal to you, not a cookie-cutter warlock spell that is meant to wrangle desire out of any creature. Finally, actual romance can't come out of something like that. You need romance to feel like a man and on your feet again, like you're pursuing someone. It stimulates your mind, your body, makes you feel whole. Even one night stands involve romance, involve people setting out to have each other. How else could you get release, if it's not truly welcomed?"

"You've been thinking about this a lot."

"I'm in love with a Demon. It shouldn't be possible, but it is. I had to ask myself why, had to prove to myself that it was possible. And, admittedly, I wanted to see if I could theorize a way for Mavia to love me back, even though I hear Demons aren't capable of love. But if she were to choose me, of her own free will, I think that will be a good start. That is what I'm hoping she will do now. But enough about me. Kael'thas, what I'm trying to say is, getting off with your pet succubus—I know that's how you're doing it—is not moving on, because it's not sex with another woman. In a way, since you own her and you tell her exactly what to do, since her will is your will… it's just some sophisticated form of masturbation. You need to talk to, and win over another woman. A real person, so you can remember that happiness existed in your life _before_ Saturna Whiteblade came along. That's the only way you'll feel better, if you find happiness again in someone else."

Kael'thas turned briefly from the balcony. "Could you really tell all of that… I never let on, did I?"

"It takes a perverted mind like mine to imagine that far. But really, other people are going to come to that conclusion anyway if you _don't_ date other women. As a warlock, you can't escape certain assumptions and you don't want them to assume the worst about you as a leader. Your reputation is already in danger."

"Good point. Though… I don't want to talk to you about this ever again. Never again in life. That's all the help I need. And you can tell Daphne and Pyorin to save themselves some trouble. I'm not letting them or anyone else snoop into my lovelife."

"Lady Liadrin kind of ordered them to do it, Kael'thas. I'm sorry. Though I can agree about the first thing. The embarrassment goes both ways. Now, tonight I have to go home and re-validate my feelings for Mavia."

Kael'thas laughed at that. Then… "What the hell are those two doing… ON MY COUCH?!"

"Kael'thas, no!"

The glass doors flew open, and Sunthraze was so alarmed to see Kael'thas that angry, he pushed Tempest off of him and she crashed, then tumbled along the floor.

"Kael'thas, I can explain—"

"You are supposed to be watching my son!" he thundered. "What in the hell is wrong with you two?"

This was a horrible time to hear Illidan laughing at him through the Soul Link.

_Be quiet!_

To his surprise, Illidan stopped.

"Neither of you are coming anywhere near my son again! Where is he? If he saw you, I swear on my father's grave—"

A terrified scream came from Kael'thas' office. That was followed by a loud crashing noise.

"Belorim!" his father shouted and ran. The others followed. Well, they got more dressed first, and Sunthraze smacked Fennore upside the head for staring at his woman, but then they followed.

"If anything happened to my son while you two perverts were screwing around—" Kael'thas stopped dead in his tracks.

Tempest and Sunthraze stopped at the doorway to Kael'thas' bedroom too when they saw it. Belorim was backed up against the wall, surrounded by shattered glass vases, turned over bookshelves, torn curtains, flowers lying in spilled water, scattered papers with his father's blue ink handwriting bleeding into it. A single broken red crayon stuck out of his balled-up little fist. Red marks were all over the walls, and his face.

But that wasn't the shocking part. An enormous ten-foot tall painting of a larger than life sized Saturna Whiteblade was exposed just beyond Kael'thas' bed. The heavy red velvet curtain that usually covered it had been drawn aside.

"Wow… I know I'm not supposed to be attracted to that thing," Tempest said, "But, Kael'thas, I know it's not my fault. I'm not the one who commissioned a wall-sized porn of your biggest fangirl."

Sunthraze opened his mouth, but had no witty retort. "Alright, I think I'm still in love with her afterall."

"I… I can explain," Kael'thas began.

Fennore had stopped just inside the doorway. "I don't think you need to. I don't think… you can." Fennore covered his mouth, didn't say anything for a long time while he stared.

Tempest put a hand on her hip. "Yeah, I don't think Saturna posed for that picture either." She grinned at Kael'thas. That's the best part."

Saturna was made to look down on Kael'thas' bed from underneath dreamy near-closed eyelids. The features of the smiling face were so specific, a dimple where the left side of her mouth curled up just so, eyebrows lifted and furrowed into a smooth brow graced by one pained wrinkle. It was the only suggestion that the woman was not exactly enjoying herself, though the flushed erect nipples and the open thighs that possessed the gentle dull glow of hot flesh strongly hinted otherwise. And what fought back the darkness that consumed the sumptuous blonde? The Whiteblade. Only, it wasn't the transformed sword of molten sunrays or even the Corrupted Ashbringer Kael'thas was surely more familiar with. Saturna leaned forward out of the romantic red-black shadows and rested her hands on a simple slender longsword that pointed at the carpeted ground beneath her feet. The beautiful white enchantment of the blade is what made her barely decent, covered what was between her legs, and cast unfair shadows across the heavy pear shaped breasts. And as she smiled, she suffered only a little for holding the weapon so close to her body.

Thankfully, it did not cut the fingers that appeared to massage the blade so suggestively. The artist had clearly been tempted to, but by whom? It was most definitely Kael'thas who provided that sort of detail and so many others. Kael'thas the Bloodmage with a thirst for the flame and an exceptional grasp of the fine line between pain and pleasure guided the painter just deftly askew of what might have been unforgivable and blatantly indecent. Though, on the other hand, it revealed that Kael'thas had a taste, a startling needy fondness for things so close to oblivion.

For all its dark complexity, the work could have been pure art. The painting of the late Saturna Whiteblade was breathtaking, carefully informed, inspired even… yet, but for the rose tongue that pressed unashamed against the underside of the blade and spread the sweet bottom lip. That single act rushed the primal mesmerizing nudity to a different place altogether. It crystallized this work of art as something far other… For she hungrily licked the phallic blade, and that was most undeniably pornographic.

Furthermore, it was obviously a torrid half-fantasy borne of Kael'thas' imagination alone. The red shadows barely obscured a black royal mantle sliding off of Saturna's shoulders. This smaller version was reminiscent of what Kael'thas wore, it was how Queens of Quel'thalas dressed. The three bright green insignia were absent because that would have overtaken the so-called Whiteblade and made it painfully obvious what the Prince had truly been missing besides what had undeniably been intoxicating sex with his late love. If one could manage to divide attention away from the ready and willing body of the perfect young woman, it became evident that the rich tones of the background did not appear velvet by coincidence. Saturna sat on the red cloth cushion of the Thalassian throne itself. The clawed feet of a phoenix statue perched on a dark ledge along the wall far away but that was easily missed. It looked like tarnished old bronze, because Saturna outshined it so well. But Silvermoon was undoubtedly there. The two of them, his heart and his country however perilously beautiful that imagined future was, were reunited—passionately—at last.

It wasn't just a scandalous painting. It revealed so much—too much—of what Kael'thas wanted in his life. And those who knew Saturna Whiteblade could confirm that this brazen lusty beauty, this wife—or was mate a better word?—to a crowned Bloodmage had never existed. She was a wish and a dream that watched over Kael'thas when he could bring himself to let it, a dark guardian angel. Sadly, the painting tried very hard to be Saturna for Kael'thas and nothing more. It was as if he feared to recreate her perfectly—for he certainly could have if even this much effort had been put into the painting. But the true angel would not have enticed and welcomed Kael'thas from his bed, tempted him with unbelievable dark hope. The real Saturna would have longed for justice, cried softly into freshly bruised white wrists and judged Kael'thas while he slept, even if she did not mean to.

Kael'thas cleared his throat and attempted to draw the curtain shut over the painting. Of course it was stuck. Little Belorim hadn't known any better and pulled too hard, or in the past Kael'thas had pulled it too much, or somesuch, and it would not close now. Instead Saturna seemed to grin over his shoulder. It sort of begged for him to turn around and watch what he'd done to her memory…

Belorim had started to cry. Kael'thas winced and raised his arms up to try and hide the image. It took up nearly the entire wall though.

"Son… you aren't supposed to go playing with… daddy's things…"

"You never asked me!"

Tempest and Fennore blinked at Belorim who'd shouted like an adult all of a sudden. He kept sobbing and rubbing his little fists over his eyes.

"Son, calm down—"

"You didn't… ask her… It's pretty, but you didn't ask!" he started to scream. Kael'thas went and picked him up. His son fought the embrace and beat against his strong arms.

Sunthraze had finally unfixed himself from the painting. "Wait a second, is he complaining about what I think he is—"

Shouts came from the other room. More guards it seemed like, worried about the noise, coming to see what the matter was…

Kael'thas warned for them to stop coming but he wasn't able to shout over Belorim.

"Good gods! That's Saturna!" Daphne stopped in the middle of the floor and almost tripped over the broken glass vase. Pyorin was completely focused on her and smiling mischievously. He had a hand at Daphne's elbow quickly and steadied her but when the Tank look up he almost needed catching himself.

"C… C-Commander?" he sputtered. "Is she… she hasn't got any clothes on!" But Pyorin didn't try to look away either.

Sunthraze, ever bold, "So how real is that… it's pretty specific isn't it, Kael'thas? Did she make that face for you often, from underneath—" Tempest jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow.

"My Prince, I saw that your door was open. I know you have a meeting with Daphne and Pyorin after your counseling session but Nate and I wanted to sneak in a quick visit… Aaaaaah!"

Lady Liadrin did fall over. A true testament to his intentions, General Blaize forgot she even existed and stood staring at the painting of his ex-wife. At first his expression was alarmed, then intrigued, and finally…

"Don't you even think about it, Blaize! That painting is mine, the sketches have all been burned. I killed the painter after it was commissioned."

Liadrin gasped, "Kael'thas!"

"Okay so… I didn't kill him, but you go anywhere near the artist Blaize and I _will_ kill him!"

"Well, I should have a copy of it too!" Blaize irrationally retorted. "She was my wife."

"She was _my_ fiancée! Besides, it was my idea and based on my real life experiences with her. You can't claim rights to that. I can guarantee there are more than a few things in that painting Saturna never did for you—"

"You shoulda' asked mommy first!"

"Tempest, surely they exaggerated in the… you know, area?"

"No Virgin. Geez, have you never even been that excited by a man? They do it on their own. Happens all the time—"

"I don't want to hear any more of my Bloodknight talking about this!"

"You know, that expression… it's a little succubine…"

Everyone at once, "FENNORE!"

A little kicked, "Well… it _is._"

Kael'thas, with the help of his despairing son, was able to get in the final word. "Please everyone, you're making him upset. Please just… go."

"And leave you alone with that thing?" Sunthraze smirked. "I don't think so." Liadrin nabbed his ear and pulled the yelping Sunthraze ahead.

"Good night, Kael'thas. Come on, everyone out. Really," but even she sounded unsure, "…it's a matter of privacy…" Liadrin's voice faded as Blaize and the rest of the Bloodknights reluctantly filed back out of Kael'thas' bedroom.

Out in the livingroom Tempest mumbled to Pyorin, "That kid is so weird, did you hear him? Who has an imaginary friend who, while flattered by the painting, complains red-faced that Kael'thas never asked Saturna's permission first? What three-year-old has an imaginary friend with the mentality of a sensible woman me or Daphne's age?"

Pyorin stopped Tempest dead in her tracks. He grabbed both her shoulders and gasped when the realization hit him. It was impossible, nothing short of a miracle.

"Tempest! Could it be… Should any of us dare to dream—"

"What Pyorin? What's happened? Go on, say something!"

"…Do you have ladylike compulsions after all?!" He pretended to shake her. Tempest slapped his hands away.

"You aren't funny. Not at all. Don't scare me like that…"

Back inside the room, Kael'thas apologized to Belorim over and over while he bent and picked up the shattered glass, the flowers, the books… but as the unsettled three-year-old sat on the bed sucking his thumb nervously, he couldn't possibly understand. And even if Kael'thas had been able to explain it, what words could make it right? Not when what he always felt for the child's mother had been so incredibly wrong. It was beautiful but also dirty, unholy, and most recently… obsessive.

"I didn't see it until now." Kael'thas sat on the bed next to his son, and then dutifully hugged the boy close so that he wouldn't have to see. "Truth is… I _do_ need some help getting over this. Fennore is right. I'm going to have to start dating again."

"No, don't do dat!"

Sorn walked in then, and Kael'thas winced.

"Oh, Kael'thas!" the old man put hands on narrow hips. "So that is what the parade of uninvited people out of your apartments was. Don't you know enough to shut your bedroom door when you're playing with that picture? And poor Belorim…" he came and got the boy, said he was going to tuck him in.

"Wait. Do you think I… traumatized him for life? Bim Bim, Daddy is sooo very sorry. I just… I have a lot of problems. But the Bloodknights are going to help me. They are going to help me the way they helped you all the way out here to find me. Doesn't that make you feel better?"

Belorim frowned at his father. He looked Sorn right in the eye and yanked his hand away. Then he marched up to his dad and glared at him sitting on the bed.

"Forgive me, Bim?"

Belorim very intentionally kicked his father in the shin.

Kael'thas held his leg and bent over, mouth open in wordless pain and confusion.

"Stop being bad!" Belorim pouted.

"You're not supposed to beat up your father!" Kael'thas yelped back.

"You not 'posed to be mean and gross."

"I'm gross? You pick your nose all the time."

Sorn rolled his eyes at what was fast becoming a real argument between the two men. Well, it was a grown up conversation with only one grown man involved. Kael'thas had sunk to his son's usual level.

"But I'm a boy!"

"So, I don't care. You'll understand when you're my age. I get to have girly-pictures if I want to."

"Nuh uh."

"Uh huh…"

"Nuh uh, having buggers is different."

"My Princes, please… Kael'thas, you can't possibly compare having questionable pornography around your son to his having… ugh, buggers in his nose. He's only three, he's inclined!"

Kael'thas conceded. "Fine. I'll start dating again. At least I can expect Pyorin to approach it with a degree of loyalty, and for Daphne to be sensitive… Unlike those other two. _And_ get a lock for the painting."

"Don't do that!"

"Why not? You know what, why am I arguing about my lovelife with you anyways? What do you even know."

Belorim screeched and got ready to kick the other leg. Kael'thas fell backward, out of the way and Sorn swooped the boy up just in time.

"She's so mad at you, Daddy! She says she's gonna' slap you and… Waaaah, put me down, I wanna' get down!"

Kael'thas sat alone on his bed for a long time, wide-eyed. Belorim yelled all kinds of things through the walls about his imaginary friend and his mother simultaneously and how both of them were going to come in the night and…

_I think it's a very nice painting actually… Artannimus is the one who did it, correct? Right Kael'thas?_

_You. Cannot. Have. The painting._

_Damn._

Finally Belorim was quiet in his own room and Sorn came back. He looked exhausted. "To be honest, your Majesty, I am unhappy that you felt you needed the painting, had it commissioned in the first place. But I am not sad that you loved the late Lady Whiteblade so much. And it was a rare, beautiful love. Now, shall I have a tailor in to fix the curtain back for you, or would you like it left open, to use tonight?"

"Use—? Oh Sorn, go away!"

Sorn bowed and left. Kael'thas wasn't entirely sure, but he thought he heard the old man chuckling.

_What, no smart comment for me about this whole fiasco Illidan? It seems everyone else has had their shot._

_I think you've suffered enough._

_Pity? Honestly, I never thought I'd hear you say something so kind…_

_I was talking to the woman trapped in oil and canvas. Dead but still caught up in the poor, unworthy Prince's soul…Will you ever forget her? No, I don't think so. Not when she haunts you so easily, feasting on all of us, hating us for never letting her go. Let her go Kael'thas._

_Never._

_Then I suppose next I shall be forced to make a painting of you. For you also try my patience, and so therefore seek to die. _Illidan grunted. _Well it wouldn't be like that one exactly…_

Kael'thas squinted an eye as he heard the indecision in Illidan's feeling. Now he _would_ have to go out and kill the artist. Why did dirty little secrets like this always come back to haunt one? But that was all Kael'thas could really stand to think of the situation before Illidan thankfully let the whole sick notion drop.

And that is perhaps also why, at that critical moment, Kael'thas never wondered what his son had been going on and on about…

Kael'thas was naturally charming but also the incorrigible sort who didn't mind being in trouble. The way he saw it, he had two choices: he could either feel awful about the painting incident, weak for being so embarrassed in front of everyone that mattered, or, take control of the problem and indulge in being bad when he was already in so much trouble in the first place.

The room was quiet, his son was fast asleep. Sorn was gone and Kael'thas sensed Illidan had left too.

"Uh huh…" He finished the argument for himself with a crooked grin.

Kael'thas went in the drawer of the bedside table, fished around for something and came back with a handful of seeds. He popped one of the strange green things High Botanist Freywinn had sneaked him after the Cabinet meeting into his mouth and put the rest back. It didn't taste very good but that didn't matter. They weren't exactly for munching. Kael'thas planted himself directly in front of the painting at the edge of his bed, leaned back on elbows and chewed...

As his mind floated in and out of coherence, Kael'thas became aware of something going very wrong. For one thing, the painting was less fun. Nude Saturna didn't seem to like him staring at her, though how he could possibly know that wasn't clear.

Tongue feeling thick, Kael'thas reasoned with the thing. "Okay, so maybe our son is right and you are mad at me. At least, that is what you'd be if you were here."

This was the part when he was supposed to say aloud that of course Saturna wasn't around anymore and feel terrible. Give into that aching void, like always… Then look at the painting again and either feel really excellent between his thighs and play with that for a long while, or indulge in that ever-present and lingering pathetic feeling and be able to cry for her, or if it was a bad batch of seeds this time around, vomit… None of which Kael'thas would remember in the morning. That, of course, was the point, to purge the sickness of his soul in some way.

But nothing happened. Instead, Kael'thas felt like he was being watched, it was so acute. Was the painting eyeing him? Ogling him in the same way he looked at it? She wanted him back. She was going to tear through the veil and ravage him, like that night with the Shuru'kaal. How did he know that there was a veil though? A barrier between his life and hers. No… but that didn't make any sense.

The white body of the sexy woman burned against his retinas. Even when Kael'thas blinked, he could still see it. No, it wasn't the white that made his eyes sting… it was the red. The red around Saturna throbbed and twisted, it had its own music. At first, it sounded like a heartbeat in his ears but that echoed and multiplied. He imagined the inside of his ears, the dark tunnel space and a lone vein against the cartilage alert unlike the others. It caught on and throbbed, there _was_a sound, it knew. The room had to be quiet—and Kael'thas looked around now, startled—no the room _was_ quiet, but the painting was making noise. It pounded, it began to rage and scream. Saturna was so hot that she was burning it. She was going to set the throne room itself on fire. Kael'thas heard his own hard laughter over the blare of music and color. How funny would that be, if all those years ago he took Saturna home the way everyone had wanted him to and she ended up burning down the whole damned castle?

His father would so kill him… and that would be fair, the other way around this time… It wasn't really a funny joke, but Kael'thas in his current state did not know this.

Then the whole thing crashed. The throne room he looked at seemed to fall down. When had it been crawling up the wall? The royal seat shuddered, the round cushions toppled to the floor. Saturna tripped, whimpered prettily and fell out of the painting.

Kael'thas opened his arms to catch her. The music stopped.

He didn't think it would work. But she fell into his waiting arms, so easily, so real. The weight of it strained his arms. She reached up, squeaked with surprise in her cute way and grabbed hold around his neck. And then he could smell her. She smelled like acrylic but also sweat, his and hers together…

"You're here." He began to smile.

"I… oh no, I didn't mean to. How did this happen?" Saturna wanted to get down, but Kael'thas wouldn't let her.

"Do you mean that… you could have come before, all those other times, but you didn't want to?"

Saturna was wide eyed. "This isn't supposed to be physically… possible." She blushed at him gazing down at her and finished with, "Besides, I had no intention of bothering your perfect life with all those women wanting you and _Darthy_ and our son all to yourself. And this palace." She waved an arm overhead in an exaggerated gesture, truly jealous. "No wonder you didn't want to go home."

"Heh. You're mad at me about Darthy? That wasn't even anything…"

"It was so! I saw you ogling her, you LYING, CHEATING—" Saturna kicked him wildly and they both fell backward onto the bed.

"And you have a nickname for her? A _nickname_! And what do I get? This… nasty painting that everyone saw! Pyorin saw me naked! And Sunthraze and Fennore! Aaarrgggghhh!"

Kael'thas shielded his face and started laughing. Her fists on his shoulders, his stomach, his back. They actually hurt. She was going to bruise him black and blue…

"This is fucking awesome! Freywinn is getting a raise."

"This isn't some hallucination you stupid junkie!" Saturna yelled when Kael'thas got a strong arm around her waist and picked her up.

"Yes, let's fight! Mmm…Let's wrestle." Kael'thas body-slammed her into the lush mattress. He let Saturna hit him some more, to make up for his getting too excited and manhandling her a bit and then ended the play-fight in a provocative but gentle "Grrrr…" with himself on top.

Kael'thas saw his hair everywhere. Gold and burning, burnnning, burns, burnnnnnnn.

"No, your hair is not burning, Kael'thas… Wow. I've never seen you this stoned before." Saturna worried.

"I haven't seen you. Naked and in my bed. For three whole years."

The woman looked afraid. "Alright, visiting you from the spirit world was a bad idea, I take it back—"

"Shh… I liked the other game better. Go back to being mad at me." Kael'thas said from under the shirt he pulled up over his head. He was getting naked and fast.

"But I'm not playing—"

He lay on top of her, kissed her, told Saturna that she felt so good she had a color. She was crystal blue and fresh like rain and tasted sweet but sharp like arcane magic. She smelled like the dawn.

"Like the dawn? That's sweet, I guess." she paused thwarting his advances.

"Like… like when the sun comes up. Like when the first light of the world touches the world, again, you know… like… like… you know the sun is a star. It's called starshine."

Saturna rolled her eyes. "Very clever, like I've never heard you call me that before. Now get off of me, Kael'thas. I didn't work up the courage to see you again for this."

He got irritated with her. "You know, you're making me wait too long for this. It's not what your master wants…"

Saturna was about to ask what in the hell Kael'thas meant by that when something else interrupted them.

_Well, well, well… so this is how the Prince of Quel'thalas spends his evenings? And I thought you'd be asleep, that I could whisper sweet nothings in your ear about the might of the Legion._

"Aw come on! Kil'jaeden, go away, I am literally this close," and he leaned up on an elbow, squirming Saturna underneath, lifted his other hand and pinched his fingers together. "So close to getting laid. Come back and tell me to burn the world later."

"Kael'thas! So we _did_ see you speaking with the Burning Legion the other day. How could you—"

"Bye bye Kil'jaeden, I'll talk to you tomorrow morning, and I'll even be happier. Heh. Oh shit. I'm not supposed to be talking to you in the first place. Fuck!" he covered his mouth.

Saturna used the distraction to get free. She walked over to the glowing red scrying orb.

Kael'thas flinched then. Was Saturna always this see-through? He could see the bright red magic through her, as if she were a ghost…

_Saturna…Is that really you?! I… We all thought you were dead._

"I am. And now that I can see what's really going on here, you are too!" She picked up the magical device.

_Please, no! Chapter Mother, you don't understand—_

Across the room, Kael'thas screwed up his face. "Chapter, whaa— Okay, I think this is finally getting weird." Then he swatted at something buzzing around him. "When in the HELL did gnats get so fucking huge? Haha!"

To the image within the scrying orb, Saturna growled, "You're breaking the rules."

_I am not! The rules clearly stated that whomever could should go and offer her services to Kael'thas as soon as she came of age. And I went to Outland and beyond for him—_

"So did I! And I found him first."

_Did not, and I was at the Black Temple years before you even got there._

"But I became his champion." Saturna squinted into the magical orb angrily.

_And then you died. But somehow, you're still here. I suppose I really shouldn't be too surprised, Chapter Mother. I've seen far stranger things in my profession. So, what the hell are you doing, haunting him anyway?_

"I died _for_ him. That means I still have rights under the fangirl-for-life clause."

_You and Becky made that up the day I wasn't there, that's not even legitimate as far as I'm concerned._

"You get away from him! Do you understand me? Maybe all this was cute when you were a sixteen year old boy and we didn't understand how weird you were yet for being in our club but it is _not_ okay to be tempting Kael'thas into the Burning Legion now—"

Kael'thas perked up. "Alright, alright now that's enough. This is waay too freaky. And Ruthie sweetheart, I don't think you should be talking to someone so dangerous—Wow… I got a whole different set of colors for feeling that, jealousy. Wow, jealousy really is green. Oh, and I'm also really, really hungry. That's yellow. Haha, oh this stuff is too good."

_YOU get away from MY Kael'thas. Do you know how long I've been working on this!_

Saturna shouted over everyone. "No more back-talk, junior fangirl scout! It's as simple as this, and you can understand it even at your age: Finder's keepers, loser's weepers!" She stuck her tongue out at the projection of Kil'jaeden and smashed the scrying orb on the floor.

Kael'thas saw the room spinning. The sense that this did not make seemed to be tangible. The more confused he was, the more exciting everything got. The colors, the muted night blues and reds of his rooms pulsed. They began to twist and sing to him, and when it all settled, red magic clouds of sparkling dust flecks covered the carpet where his spherical window to the outside world had once been. The burst scrying orb stained carpet, table, and wall, but not Saturna. It passed through her.

She wiped her hands clean of the act and walked in bare feet over the glass shards to have Kael'thas again.

"You killed Kil'jaeden." he covered his mouth. "Oh Starshine… you saved me."

"No, that was just… Well, if you liked it then maybe I did?"

Kael'thas saw the mischievous look in her eye, swept the covers aside and encouraged it.

"Yes you did. It's what you want, isn't it? To save me. Just like always."

"Well, maybe a little… No. No, Kael'thas this thing isn't a game. Do you know who was really in that scrying orb? How sick and dangerous people like him are?"

Kael'thas kissed Saturna's hand and drew her back into bed with him. "Did I finally guess the game right? Can I please have you now?"

Saturna bowed her head. It was so gentle, she was flattered, but couldn't look at him. "I don't know. Like I said I… didn't come here for that."

"What did you come here for then?" Kael'thas sounded coherent at last. And disappointed.

"I wanted to slap your face, for the painting."

"Well, you did that already."

"And to say that… I miss you. I'm sorry that I didn't make myself known earlier, but after everything that's happened between us… I was afraid. Beside it being so difficult to do. I'm not even sure how it's working right now…"

Her words were like a lullaby. Kael'thas began to feel peaceful again, the high fading away. He saw such beautiful things. Saturna had golden wings and a halo… or were those just Bloodknight spells he was remembering? She'd fought for him once, conjured Light magic just like that…

"I'm sorry that I chose this for us Kael'thas. I want you to know that. I see how you ache and I feel for you, still so deeply. But it was the only way I could save our family. I had to die, I needed to go, and in so many ways I _am_ gone… But now I'm afraid that—"

"Shh…shh… That's enough now. I want to do this before it's too late."

They made love. Kael'thas didn't see sound or hear colors anymore. He looked at Saturna the entire time, tried to make fleeting the hyper-awareness work for him and not against him. Every bead of sweat was apparent. He tried to kiss each one. He thought he saw her heart beating through the translucent skin and pressed his long ear up against it. It was far away, she was cold but still here with him, by some miracle. How was it being done? For a moment he dared to believe that it was true. Then he did and it was perfect. If only for a little while.

Morning came. Things began to look more solid, and it was quiet. His heartbeat and hers no longer raged in his ears. Kael'thas could hear himself breathe, he could feel himself hugging this woman. But like before, it was less fun. She was fading.

"I think I finally guessed what the game was."

Saturna looked up. Neither of them really slept. "Kael'thas… I so wish you hadn't chosen tonight to get high, of all nights—"

"You love me from beyond the veil, from the afterlife. That's what it was this time, wasn't it Ruthie? Thank you. That was so creative, just what I needed."

"Who the hell is Ruthie?"

Kael'thas blinked. "Ruthsalia…" he sighed. "Unfortunately, now you've made this is too real and I don't like it anymore. Change back." When Saturna didn't, he insisted, "Ruthie. I trained you to do a lot of fantastic things a demoness isn't meant to do and maybe you even realize that I spoiled you… But that does not mean you can disobey a direct order."

"Order? Train me…" Saturna's eyes went wide. "You think I'm your pet succubus?! You do this with your succubus!"

Reality hit Kael'thas like a wave then. Thousands of needle pricks on the skin of his face. Only now did he realize how cold it was in his bedroom at this time of year, as it should have been all night long.

"Well, if you're not Ruthie then…" he shuddered, "Lady Vashj?"

"No!"

An even more disturbed face and a lot of working up the courage to say it, "… Illidan?"

"NO! Kael'thas, I swear to all the gods and the Sun in the sky that I am going to KILL YOU!"

"Shit—"

She pushed him out of bed and came at him with a whirling pillow.

"You disgusting pervert!" she whacked at him with all she was worth. "I finally work up the courage to spend time alone with you and this is how you treat that miraculous—" she was so angry she cut herself off, "And you have sex with your succubus! How long has this been going on… if you think I am going to let you raise our son around…"

Kael'thas was busy shielding his face and trying to hold another horrible realization at bay. But if this was real, there could be only one explanation. Paintings didn't speak to you, succubae didn't disobey their warlocks… and he was damned sure that dead ex-girlfriends didn't come back from the dead. The drug had been too good, in fact it had masked the truth too well. He knew of only one person capable of scaring him so bad, and that man was an ex-Sunfury, ex-Scryer, and worst of all a shadowpriest known to have a very nasty Mind Vision spell.

"…Fa… Faltheriel?"

Saturna the ghost screamed at the top of her lungs and tried to strangle Kael'thas with her bare hands as the last of whatever it was that allowed them to reunite finally wore off.

This left Kael'thas lying alone on the floor in a mess of red upturned sheets and half-sheathed pillows. Shaking and sweating, he put one hand up on the bed, then another, picked himself up.

There was a knock on the door.

"Not now—"

"I'm sorry my Prince but you must make yourself decent if you aren't already. Your son wishes to speak with you, and there is a great deal that must be done today."

Kael'thas hoped his eyes weren't that bloodshot. That was the best thing about having glowing green eyes though, as a Blood Elf. He quickly slipped into his black nightclothes and put on a robe.

When they entered, Sorn scowled at him. He held a silver tray set with a steaming coffee pot. His Chief Advisor dragged a table near to the bed, set up everything and then poured Kael'thas a cup. It was strong and black.

"So um… I guess I made a little noise last night."

Both Belorim and Sorn folded arms across their chests. Belorim pouted.

"My Prince, please do not ever get H-I-G-H again" Sorn spelled it for Belorim not to hear, "…with him in the next room. That is wholly irresponsible, worse than that painting—" he stopped after pointing. "What did you DO to your scrying orb?"

"It's broken?" Kael'thas peered over the bed. Sure Saturna had done it in his Mind Vision, or dream, or hallucination, or whatever it was… but mere figments of the imagination did not break scrying orbs.

"I… must have somehow done it."

"She says to tell you, that she is never speaking to you again!" Belorim pointed up at his father. Sorn put a cautionary hand on the boy's shoulder before he could kick him in the leg a second time, now that Kael'thas was holding hot coffee.

"Who? Oh, that again… Well, I suppose if I can do something so stupid with a painting and Freywinn's wayward seeds… you should be able to have an imaginary friend." He shrugged.

"Correction. There will be NO more of Freywinn's seeds, especially not with your son here. He is a child and you are a man. Life is not fair for you."

And here the choice was, presented again. He could give into embarrassment and feel weak, or indulge in bad behavior when they were already so mad at him. And wasn't he just going to get into trouble again, that was the kind of person Kael'thas knew he was. If it wasn't clear to him before, it was painfully obvious after last night that he liked misbehaving. It was sexy and fun until… He recalled Saturna trying to kill him then.

"Alright. No more enjoying my addictions. Sorn, Belorim… I'm sorry."

"Are you sure you're done? And are you truly sorry?" Sorn knew him too well.

"Ah… Yeah. Things got really out of control last night. I think I went too far and scared myself, finally. A lot of very strange and… disturbing things happened."

Sorn eased off but Belorim still had his little fists planted on his hips.

"Come here, you." Kael'thas picked his son up and set him in his lap. Belorim had insisted so they had matching pajamas with their initials monogrammed in gold over the black silk breast pockets. Every time he saw his son's miniature version Kael'thas had to fight not to smile. "Are you still mad? Go on, here I'll even put down my coffee. Okay, now hit me. If you're that angry, let's get it out in the open alright? No more secrets. You know… whether it's apparent or not, I really do feel badly about how I acted yesterday, fighting with you and all. Do you know that I even had a dream that your mother came and tried to beat me up? Just like you said? Now that's a real guilty conscience, for me to come up with something so real. Bim Bim, I truly am sorry. But you can't go on being mad at me forever. Sometimes, when people make mistakes and it hurts you… you have to let it go."

"But how do I do dat?"

Kael'thas was still learning the lesson too. He thought for a moment. "You… remember how much you love them. And that you know in your heart they would never do something like that to hurt you, on purpose. After, you give them a second chance. In fact… Why don't you try doing it now."

Sorn nodded and Belorim closed his eyes.

"Do you have it?"

"Mmhmm."

"Alright then," and Kael'thas was afraid to ask this part. "…Do you forgive me?"

"Daddy, I love you." Belorim hugged his father. "I forgive you."

But it would not always be that easy, or that simple. For now though, Kael'thas was relieved.

Belorim reached up and whispered into his father's ear. "But she doesn't want to, she's mean."

"Oh?"

"Mhmm. She's still mad, but you can make it up to her."

"How?"

"She says burn the picture and get rid of Ruthie."

Kael'thas glared at Sorn, who'd started to laugh.

"Who's Ruthie, daddy?"

"Isn't it time for you to go to school, or… anything like that?"

"What's school?"

Kael'thas covered his face. "Well then… we _are_ going to get you started in some classes about something, away from home so you can think about other things besides your father's… fun little problems. Sorn, talk to Lady Liadrin about getting Belorim some sort of training will you?"

"Oh! Can I be a warlock?"

_Kael'thas,_ Illidan seemed to be awake again now. _That would be perfect for him. I could even--_

"…No."

"Aww… Oh! Can I be a Bloodknight? She says yes, that you have to do it or she's coming back—"

"Okay, okay, Bloodknight it is. Sorn, set it up."

Chief Advisor Sorn bowed that he would, then asked the Princes of Quel'thalas what they wanted for breakfast. No one wanted healthy oatmeal, just bacon and sausage and eggs. Well, it wasn't perfect, but it was back to normal. As normal as it could get with Kael'thas and his family. Everyone an eccentric magical genius, if a little odd. That was the great Sunstrider family secret.

When they were eating alone together, Kael'thas worked up the courage to ask, "Belorim… what's the name of your imaginary friend?"

"She's not imaginary, she's real."

"No… that's not what I asked you." He was a little annoyed to see his son had picked up on his own conversational tactics to avoid getting into trouble.

"I can't tell you her name, daddy."

"Why not?"

Belorim became quiet. His father sensed the boy's unease and rubbed his back, began to ask what was wrong.

"She's afraid of you, okay! And I don't wanna' play this game anymore." Belorim hopped down from the bed and ran back to his room.

Kael'thas supposed he should call his son back to breakfast, make him finish eating. But that didn't seem fair, when Belorim was so upset. And maybe he was in the wrong, bothering Belorim about something that he already knew the boy was so sensitive about, being all alone with no one in Tempest Keep his age.

But more importantly, there was the warpburger incident from yesterday to consider. Kael'thas quickly ate the rest of his son's food, then went back to finishing his own.

If Belorim asked… he'd just say that Ruthie was _his_ imaginary friend and made _him_ do it.

"Yeah, that'll teach the boy to eat _my_ lunch. Two birds with one stone. Now _that's_ parenting." Kael'thas said, mouth full.

It felt like someone was still watching, and they were disappointed. It was nearly tangible.

"Yeah… Freywinn and I are going to have a looong talk." He sighed unhappily. "But not a transaction. No more of those…"


	10. A visit from Doctor Ruthie

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Nine: A Visit from Doctor Ruthie  
**

Kael'thas leaned over his desk, trying very hard to ignore the feeling that he was being watched. Belorim was with Pyorin, he was fine. Through the Soul Link, Kael'thas sensed that Illidan was also busy… so there was no reason to worry about him. Countless other worries came to mind: the warp engine deep inside of Tempest Keep that Pathaleon kept fiddling with and breaking, Sunthraze and Tempest who he needed to have an important talk with but couldn't because of the painting incident, and then there was… Kael'thas pulled a patient breath. He couldn't think the name of the Demon who kept coming to his scrying orb, telling him things. But Kael'thas worried about that too.

That was when saw her, out of the corner of his eye. Kael'thas indulged a lustful grin before his mind went blank and he was again able to redirect his attention.

Good old Ruthie.

"That weirdo Fennore is here." Sunthraze's voice carried through the double glass doors. He and another Bloodknight were watching his doors these days. Lady Liadrin insisted that it was only fitting. Kael'thas had not wanted to relieve the Sunfury guards of duty for no good reason, but General Blaize immediately backed her idea and had the regular guards removed. The only drawback was… those damned personalities his Bloodknights insisted on having. He would have to speak with them about the functionality of pomp and circumstance. Mainly because pomp and circumstance was largely concerned with shutting one's smart mouth.

Kael'thas gazed at his succubus for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. She looked at him too, more pet than Demon. He couldn't ask her, that was for sure.

"Come in."

Fennore was really excited about something. "My Prince! Can you please help me come up with a reason to see Mavia tomorrow? I think I have an idea on how to win her over, but I need your advice first. How, exactly, do you get a succubus to like you? You see, I was hoping that…"

Kael'thas looked up from his book when Fennore eventually noticed the gold succubus in the room.

"Her name is Ruthsalia. She doesn't like other people, but it's even worse if I desummon her without spending some time with her first. She's only been out a few minutes now. Can I trust you not to terrify her while we have this little chat? And mind you, I have work to do."

Fennore forgot to close his mouth. "She's… gold."

"Yes, Ruthie likes being gold. Now, what did you come in here for?"

The blonde Bloodknight came over to the desk and sat down. "She…" he shook his head, seizing back his bearings. "We talked about this yesterday. Why is she out, Kael'thas? You aren't using her to fight an enemy. Were you…?"

"No. And that's none of your business, like I said yesterday. Ruthsalia is just sitting there, that's all. She helps me to stay focused on my work."

"By… coming out of her armor like that? I don't get it."

Kael'thas sighed. "I just knew this was a bad idea. Look, she's hard to ignore, and I only have so many hours to get this work done. Between the pressure of time and not being able to have her, I can keep myself hyper focused on my work."

"Wouldn't it be better if you just had her punish you—"

"Fennore!"

"Sorry."

"Besides, she doesn't work like that." He waved his hand dismissively. "It's a long story. Now, what was it you wanted to ask me, something about getting a succubus to fall in love with you?"

Fennore nodded eagerly.

"Ahh… so we come to this at last. I knew you'd ask me this eventually, the way you were going. The answer is no, not possible. Don't waste your time."

"What! How can you get my hopes up like that and then just… dash them all over the floor?"

Both of them were momentarily distracted by Ruthie when she inspected her long fingernails. The slight shift in her weight on the chair caused it to move and creak.

Kael'thas cleared his throat. "I'm warning you… don't go through with it. Every man is welcome to his fantasy. After yesterday, I'm certainly not one to judge. However, you're treading on dangerous ground, my friend. Fantasize about Mavia the Maneater all you want, but don't go trying to elicit feelings from her. It _will_ blow up in your face."

Kael'thas turned the page of his book and went back to taking notes.

Fennore kept looking at the succubus Ruthsalia, and then back at Kael'thas. "That's what happened here, isn't it?" he concluded.

Kael'thas kept writing. "If you must know, yes… Ruthie is broken."

"Broken? How? How can someone break a Demon?"

"It's far easier for a Demon to break you…" he smiled briefly, "But not a Sunstrider."

Fennore blinked. "Alright… there is no way I'm leaving this room until you explain what you mean by that."

"No."

"Awww… come on, Kael'thas! Why not consider it part of your counseling? Maybe your obsession with Saturna is connected to your strange relationship with your succubus? Going back years ago when…"

Kael'thas sighed. "Those two problems are _not_ connected." Then he hesitated, "Are they? Nooo… No, that's not possible." He went back to work. "Ruthie is like my physician in a way, it's more of a… Why am I even telling you this?"

Fennore folded his hands over the desk. "Because I've been helping you so much, for free, might I add, and I just need one tiny bit of advice from you… After everything I've helped you with, you're not going to tell me one itty bitty little story?"

Kael'thas grunted. "It's embarrassing. Worse than Jaina even. It was hard enough to live through—"

"Master?"

Kael'thas and Fennore turned to her again. There is something about a beautiful woman and how easily she can draw your attention.

"Yes, what is it Ruthie?"

Ruthsalia the succubus gave a shy smile. "I… I would like to tell him, how we fell in love."

Fennore flashed a look at Kael'thas who scratched his neck like he was really uncomfortable and mouthed, 'It's not like that, she's crazy.'

"Of course dear." He welcomed her over.

Ruthsalia stood. She did not have a whip, or any other weapon. Her armor was the same color as her skin, a shining bright gold, like the sort of playful glistening yellow one saw in jewelry. Her eyes were a pale fel-green. Fennore felt justified then, just by looking at Ruthie, that not all succubus demons were the same. Mavia had a brisk strut, like she wanted to jump at you and make you flinch at the slightest provocation. Ruthsalia took her time, and walked in a wide arc around the desk, to avoid getting near to this other man. Her careful stalking quickened when she got closer to Kael'thas, her Master. Finally, she stood behind Kael'thas and wrapped both arms possessively around his shoulders. Before she started speaking, she stole a kiss from his cheek.

Kael'thas fumbled, a little embarrassed. Fennore almost laughed at him.

"We met eighteen years ago…" she fawned over Kael'thas, rubbing her head against him like an affectionate cat. "It was love at first sight."

"Was it now?" Fennore baited her.

"Oh yes." She hugged Kael'thas tighter. "He needed me and so he summoned me… so honest, so powerful! A compassionate warlock… I proudly serve his every need."

Fennore was near to bursting with laughter now. It took a while to compose himself while Kael'thas squinted an eye. "Skip that part, please Ruthie. Just tell him what went wrong… back when I was a perverted thirteen-year-old."

Ruthsalia began to massage Kael'thas' shoulders. "He'd never been with a woman before. He kept begging me. I was experienced… I told him we could do it anywhere, in any way imaginable, but my Master wanted a bed. So, he took me home."

"You've got to be kidding me. You mean you—"

"And then his father King Anasterian joined us—"

"He did NOT, Ruthie! Tell it the right way." Kael'thas flipped out. "Nevermind, I'll tell it."

The obedient succubus pouted but kept her mouth shut.

Kael'thas leaned across the desk and lowered his voice. "My father walked in on us, yes, but that's not what I was hoping Ruthie would convey to you. Do you know what it takes to convince a succubus to sleep with you? You'd be surprised, most warlocks only get to look, they never touch. Of course succubae have sex, but it's only with other Demons and it's just mating. They are as repulsed by us as we are… doing it with animals."

"Eww." Fennore said, which considering his fetish was an achievement for him.

Kael'thas realized it and breathed a sigh of relief. "So you see, though I summoned my succubus pet far earlier than my trainer should have even given me the scroll, and thought what any teenage boy might think when having a woman like that all to himself… I really didn't have a chance in hell of getting what I wanted from her. Maybe that is why my trainer didn't think twice about it in the first place."

"But you're a Sunstrider."

"Which means I was a prodigy as well as hailing from a long line if lechers." Kael'thas laughed. "Well… on the day my father found us, it wasn't so funny."

"Wait, I need you to back up a bit, my Prince. How did you convince her? I can't imagine that at that age, you were any more suave than when you went to Dalaran and got your heart broken by Lady Jaina Proudmoore?"

"Thank you for reminding me of that, Fennore who is about to be not-so-Immortal." Ruthsalia had begun to pull his chair away from the desk, to push into his lap, but Kael'thas gave her a firm look. Whimpering, the gold demoness backed down. "Succubae aren't obsessed with sex and seduction really, the way that mortal races think about it. That is just our bias. There is mating, and then there is courtship. Courtship for demons is a long, violent battle. Don't smile like that! It's not anything kinky, you freak."

Fennore raised an eyebrow at Kael'thas. "Your first time was with this succubus, while I was with a normal young lady I liked more than twenty years ago. Pot, kettle, black?"

Kael'thas heated. "I'm trying to tell you that when a succubus is seducing you, she is not thinking about sex. She is thinking about ripping you limb from limb if you don't appeal to her. All Demons find mates that way, by making threats and seeing who can stand what kind of pain. The strongest Demons enslave other ones. The strongest Demons are also the only ones who get to mate. Succubae are a special race of Demon. All are female and are especially adapted to selecting the best mates available. The first warlocks were able to take advantage of this specialty and use it effectively for crowd control against all sorts of humanoids in battles. Just like felhounds are excellent for sniffing out magic users, imps are superior casters, voidwalkers… well, they aren't really the best tanks, and then there are Infernals, and so forth. Do you understand me, Fennore? Between a succubus and her warlock, she will always win when it comes to playing games of seduction. She has eons of evolution behind her skill and there's no outsmarting that. A good warlock knows how to control his succubus, so that he can focus her explosive sexual energy on a single target. Bad warlocks give into their nasty little fantasies and end up on the losing end of a very one-sided… Well, as far as we mortals are concerned, it certainly is an abusive relationship."

Fennore covered his mouth, no longer holding back laughter, but deep in thought. "And so… you tangled with Ruthie all those years ago, and somehow convinced her that you were stronger. This caused her to fear you… and then she became this submissive?"

Kael'thas tapped his fingers on the desk. "Why aren't you a warlock, Fennore? You have an affinity for Demonology."

He smiled. "Why, thank you My Prince."

"It wasn't a compliment." Kael'thas frowned. "Because you feared to train as one, you've developed this sick fetish instead, and now everyone else is suffering for it."

Fennore laughed. "So they are. But, Kael'thas, was I right? Is that how you won over Ruthie?"

"I wore her down. It works for mortal women too."

This was worse than vague, Fennore demanded more of an answer. "Fine, Fennore. I… begged and begged pathetically for sex until Ruthie threatened my life. Then my father came in the room, went into hysterics over the scene and _he_ threatened my life. You see the chain of command here? Now, in that moment, I could have accepted the beating I was going to get from my father, _and_ from Ruthie later for crossing the line, and then there was the punishment from my old coven master. But I remembered my lesson on Demon physiology right then, about how mating works, and realized that if I did one stupid thing at that moment, I could have everything I wanted later."

"Which was…" Fennore looked worried.

"I told my father," Kael'thas groaned, "The King of Quel'thalas, to go take a flying leap. And then, slammed my bedroom door in his face. And locked it… for three whole days."

Fennore winced. "That… was a really stupid thing to do. You were in the wrong, and so young at that…. I'm sure he wore your hide red."

"You know, looking back, I'm sure that tipped the scales when I first considered whether or not to study in Dalaran. You don't want to know how Sunstriders punish their children. We're resistant to a lot of the conventional sorts of discipline." Kael'thas shuddered. "But my father did that and more. On top of everything else, I was grounded forever. He threatened to make me give up being a warlock. However… I was already a warlock. The coven master explained to my father that if I didn't continue with my lessons and learn how to treat Demons and their magic properly, I'd end up… well, like you."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Ruthie knew your father was the King of Quel'thalas, the alpha male over all alpha males, and you stood up to him when he challenged you. That, combined with your persistence, convinced her that you were stronger than she and everyone else in the kingdom. Wow. That's no easy task. Especially not at thirteen."

"Yes, well that's the sunny side of the story, if there can be said to be one. After I slept with my succubus though, I became her mate. She never cared to seduce anyone ever again. In fact, she completely lost her powers of seduction. You've never seen me summon Ruthie for a fight because she can't fight. Her… hormones changed, she's not capable of drawing on such feral sexual rage anymore. As I said earlier, Ruthie is broken."

"Broken? That can't be right. She's alive, isn't she? She seems normal…"

"Fennore, when have you ever observed a succubus to actually shut her mouth when you tell her to, or to cry when she's being ignored," Kael'thas reached back gently pulled Ruthie over, where she was hugging herself in a corner. "Ruthie, I'm not mad at you…" He urged her to sit on the edge of his desk and he patted her hand. "When I was a perverted little boy, I set out to have sex with my succubus, and guess what? I got what I wanted, a partner for life. She is sensitive, demanding, and believe it or not, not always in the mood; a handful. A real woman with a mind and a personality, and the capacity to reject me from time to time—to have some break from the constant petting and coddling, when this broken succubus has got absolutely no confidence—in addition to all those things would have been far better. But she'd be heartbroken if I ever abandoned her, and now that she can't defend herself, she'd be helpless if I did. I sort of grew up that day… Okay so honestly it was about a year later when all the constant sex stopped being so much fun, and I realized how I'd hurt Ruthie. I decided to take care of her for the rest of her life. She's terrified of anyone else except for me, and in a small way, she's frightened of me too. She doesn't like being out of the Nether too long. She says that she gets cold and it hurts. I don't understand what that means, but I never dared to test it. I'm more like her pet now, going crazy every few months or so to make sure that she's still in her right mind, and not suffering because of my selfish, stupid mistake."

"Kael'thas, had it ever occurred to you that maybe this is Ruthie's natural state? That she's meant to be this way: a sweet, unflinchingly loyal monster?"

"You are in love with Mavia the Maneater because she's so terrifying. If you ever broke her the way I broke Ruthie, I seriously think you'd regret it."

Fennore had nothing to say to that.

Kael'thas leaned across the desk and looked Fennore in the eye. "I am a Bloodmage, and possibly the most powerful warlock in existence right now. I broke my succubus when I was thirteen, and years later, Illidan got furious with me when I wouldn't use my superior power to enslave him, and so enslaved me. I survived both extremes. Trust me when I say… Friends don't let friends have sex with Demons. Just say no."

"You and Illidan—"

"NO! Did I say that? I meant that my deviant behavior with Ruthie years ago sent me down a dangerous path, a downward spiral because I kept thinking that I was a master of Demon magic, got myself hopelessly addicted to it… If you go too far with Mavia, you're bound to be in for the ride of your life as well. Trust me, besides the overconfidence as far as my warlock powers were concerned, failing to treat another woman normally after having Ruthie as a first experience was no fun. Being rejected constantly by women is no fun. The lust for blood, for pain, is a part of me now. Ironically, Ruthie was my only comfort during all those awkward years. Her devotion, however tragic, healed my neglected heart and body in a special way… she always makes things right… in that, um department. It's pathetic, I know, but I had a real problem. She was the only one kind enough to help me. Saturna was the only woman who… learned to love it… after a whole hell of a lot of struggling on my part. And um… I was going to tell her about Ruthie eventually. Maybe. Okay, so not at all."

"I understand." Fennore was solemn.

"Good, so what are you going to do the next time you see Mavia?"

"Kael'thas, I'm sorry but… I love her. I am still going to pursue her."

Kael'thas leaned back in his chair and it creaked. He glared at the other man for a long time. "Get out."

"But I didn't do anything—"

"You let me sit here and tell you the most embarrassing story of my life for nothing? GET OUT!"

Fennore hurried to leave. When the dark red glass doors slid shut, Ruthsalia reached over and stroked Kael'thas' long blonde hair.

"This Saturna woman… she made you very happy, didn't she? You never let me see her, besides the painting."

Kael'thas bowed his head. "I'm sorry Ruthie, I've tried to explain this to you many times… you're wonderful but I'm a mortal man. I need a mortal woman. And Saturna, after all these years, I'm beginning to believe that she was a once in a lifetime sort of love, my soulmate."

Ruthie caressed both sides of her master's face and lifted his gaze so that she could look into his eyes. She was purely empathetic, not conflicted at all. No creature alive was capable of being so absolutely selfless… except for a broken succubus.

"You are handsome, and clever. You are strong. Any mortal woman would be lucky to have you. When you are ready to move on, I am sure you will have your pick of the very best."

"Thank you, Ruthie." He smiled and hugged her.

"In the meantime, I can keep doing the voice if you want… The painting of her really helps me to get into character too. Is my impression of her believable? I want to get it exactly right before you quit Saturna altogether. Better than what you told me about what happened last night." She purred and kissed his cheek.

Kael'thas groaned and rubbed his temples. "By the Sun, I'm a mess! I can't believe I ever sank that low… and so many times in the last three years. Ugh."

_You're a sick bastard, Kael'thas._ Illidan's voice came through the Soul Link.

Kael'thas grimaced. "That's it! The Demon Lord of Outland thinks I'm repulsive, compared to him. I'm officially moving on."

Illidan kept laughing through the Soul Link. It was sort of friendly, the way they used to poke fun at each other.

"I don't like Illidan." Ruthie said, "He insults you and he hurts you, my Master, and you are the best warlock I know."

_Wait, what did she say?_ He strained to catch it. Illidan mostly heard whatever Kael'thas was feeling or thinking when his clever warlock pet could help it, not other people.

_She says she's not surprised that we've become friends, considering our luck with women. _It was as close to an insult as Kael'thas could get.

Illidan started laughing again, unimpressed. _Yes, send Fennore the Immortal to me. He and this succubus of mine that he wants, that should make for good sport. What? You're not even going to warn your friend, Kael'thas?_

_Why? Fennore knows what he's getting himself into. I've done everything I can for that poor bastard. Besides, anything I tell him at this point would just give you a head start, and you know it. Now, if you'll excuse me… While I have some time alone away from Belorim, I'd like to get back to studying…_

'_Studying,' so is that what you call it? No wonder I never noticed before…_

Kael'thas lost his temper. _Shut up, Illidan._

Illidan just laughed and laughed.

"Botanist Freywinn at the door." Sunthraze called next.

_Illidan, if I asked you to sort of turn the other way while I have a private conversation, would you?_

_No._

Kael'thas sighed, "Enter." Ruthsalia stealthed without being asked.

Freywinn had a silly smile on his face.

"I hope that means you sobered up before coming in here?"

"Of course my Prince. I wouldn't dream of doing anything different when we're about to talk business. You owe me some gold by the way. Oh, and this smile is for you and my little experiment. I heard that you had a fantastic time of it last night."

Kael'thas massaged a temple, reached into his desk and gave Freywinn a hefty pouch of gold. "Do me a favor and don't count it in front of my face this time. It does wonders for my confidence in myself as a leader of the Blood Elf people." He warned, and Freywinn put it away. "So, Belorim went around telling everyone I was laughing like a madman through the walls of my room last night, I take it?"

Freywinn nodded. "So, do you think it's a winner?"

"Freywinn… Though it's been fun, I'm going to have to ask you to stop spending time making rave drugs. I know you need other projects, hobbies to keep yourself sane, but all that research sort of… goes in the wrong direction, doesn't it? We need our racial addictions cured, not enhanced."

He wasn't happy to hear it, but a scholar can only be so disappointed after hearing their life's work is a success.

"So, Freywinn… I have a few questions for you before you close out that line of experimentation altogether."

"Yes?"

Kael'thas went into his drawer once more and dumped the handful of green seeds on the desk between them. "After I ate one of these, I had this dream that—"

"Wait a second. You say you _ate_ one? Kael'thas… you were supposed to grind it up and, you know… snort it."

"Really? Oh boy…" To Freywinn's startled look, "Well that would explain it. Last night I dreamed that, well, my painting came alive."

Illidan didn't laugh, but he was very amused. That he was trying very hard to hear all of the conversation embarrassed Kael'thas even more.

"… and Saturna looked like a ghost. She was transparent and all that. But I could hold her and smell her and… you know."

Freywinn cleared his throat and tried to appear as upstanding as possible. "No, I don't understand, I'm afraid. I'm going to have to see this painting in detail, to fully comprehend."

"Those ugly shoulder guards look like good kindling to me." Kael'thas glared.

"Sorry, word of your porn-trait had been going around and I had to try for it. Well honestly, I don't know what to say to that, Kael'thas. I suppose my little happy seeds heightened the experience for you, at an unprecedented level. Not that I think you really kissed and probably… er… with a ghost. But, your senses must have been so hyper-stimulated that you really believed it happened."

Kael'thas leaned back in his chair.

_I would have liked to see something so miraculous Kael'thas._

_You always do anyway, whether I want you to or not. So why would I have to tell you, oh omniscient one? In fact, what were you doing last night that was so distracting?_

_Leave my harem out of this._

"Freywinn. I'm going to have to give these back to you." He pushed the strange seeds across the desk. "You and I both know I'm a great guinea pig for these sorts of things, and I don't mind paying for trials of your… experimental drugs since I have an incredibly high threshold for… all kinds of addictive elements. It _is_ good for your research." Kael'thas was able to actually make it sound scientific. "But truth be told, I don't even know if it wore off. I still feel like there's this presence, like she's looking over my shoulder." He leaned forward and whispered, "When is the damned thing going to wear off?"

Freywinn just shook his head. "I… never ate one, I don't know."

"Would you then? In fact, I'm ordering you to do it. Then tell me what happens."

"That has got to be the best assignment… and what happened to me shutting down this recreational line of research?"

"Aw, you'd probably sell the lab to the Goblins or something when I wasn't looking anyway. Just keep it, but don't give any more of that crazy stuff to me. I guess that's what I was really trying to achieve."

Freywinn stood and saluted. "I serve with pride then, my Prince."

Ruthsalia decloaked after he was gone and sat at the edge of Kael'thas' desk.

"You sure that wasn't you last night?" he blurt out. "I mean if it was… I'd feel so much better if it was."

"I'm sorry Master. I wish I had been that clever, to make myself look and smell and feel like your Saturna."

_Once again, you're one sick bastard Kael'thas._

_Yeah well… What I had last night was a lot closer to sleeping with a mortal woman than you've been able to manage in what, hundreds of years?_

_Oh, you're going to take a shot at me and Tyrande are you? In that case I'm more than pleased to remind you of who came to my bed three years ago._

_I'd tell you to go to hell Illidan if we weren't already there together._

_Then I like hell. It suits me._

While Ruthsalia looked on curiously, Kael'thas attempted to finish it.

"Do you know what really disturbs me about you Illidan? One day, I am certainly going to kill you. And I know you well, I think you are going to enjoy it. Now, who's a sick bastard?"

"Touché. May I help you do it, Master? It sounds like fun." But the broken succubus had taken it completely the wrong way.

_I do hope you're treating her well, Kael'thas. That one's a keeper._

"Yeah, deciding not to be a demonologist warlock was a good choice. It feels like I already have too many damn demon pets already." He sighed and went back to reading.


	11. Friends don't let friends sleep with

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Ten: Friends don't let friends sleep with Demons**

Bloodknight Fennore the Immortal stood confidently before Demon Lord Illidan Stormrage. Illidan had a strange smile on this face the entire time the Blood Elf explained his idea for 'an unprecedented healing technique' that he wanted to teach all of Illidan's Demons. Apparently, since the Light was just magic, Demons could be taught to wield it.

"… that no Demon has ever used the Light before, is merely because no one was ever willing to teach them. Taboos, stigmas… they plague warlocks and Demons, make people afraid of power that has the capacity to corrupt one, but only if you happen to be stupid about it."

Illidan grinned like he was going to eat him. The various demonesses of his harem: there were succubae, malicious tutors, and a few red-eyed Eredar women among others. Normally, Illidan dismissed them when he had company. Fennore, however, was more than tolerant of the sort of secret love life Illidan had adopted as Lord of Outland. For all their many meetings, Illidan once confessed to Fennore that he didn't really like the Demon women all that much. He was sort of forced into that situation. He hadn't come out and said it, but Fennore guessed that it was because no mortal woman would have him.

And that wasn't because Illidan was unattractive. He had always been widely known as an attractive man, even back when he was a Night Elf. Illidan still possessed a lot of that devilish charm. It was what he did with it though, that deeply disturbed the best kinds of women that eventually, a man longs to settle down with. Women like Tyrande Whisperwind, Lady Vashj on the other extreme, and most recently, Saturna Whiteblade.

Illidan abruptly spoke over Fennore. "I like your Mavia. You have good taste in Demon women."

Fennore smiled. "Why, thank you, Lord Illidan. But about the Light spells—"

"That is why I started sleeping with her." Illidan pretended to admire his black claws, as if this sort of conversation, shattering another man's heart into pieces, was as casual as chatting about the weather. "Since you left, I had her here," Illidan meant the stone throne he was sitting in. "Over there, on the elven couch, against the walls… and they watched."

Some of the Demon women looked up from their muted conversations all around the room. There were about twenty of them.

Illidan grinned. "They liked watching me, and I liked watching your Mavia squirm, but smile anyway. I wonder why I never noticed her before?"

Fennore took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Speechless, are you? That's good. For a moment, I thought that maybe I was stepping on your toes. I'll go ahead and make her a part of my harem then."

"What! My Lord…" Fennore knew better than to speak up. He forced himself to talk calmly. "Is that your intention, to enslave her then?"

"Well, someone here is going to have to die first." He chuckled at Fennore's surprised look. "Not you, Bloodknight. You are the best healer among all my allies, I'd never sacrifice your talent so easily. Besides being an invaluable asset to Kael'thas. I meant my harem. I think I'll watch them duel tonight… however many rounds it takes for one of them to be eliminated. Mavia can then take the empty spot."

Fennore was disgusted. "Is that how you treat them, like animals? Worst than beasts, even!"

Illidan raised his voice. "Demons are not really women, Fennore the Immortal. They are just Demons. I was a mortal man once, I know the difference. What I took with me, when I consumed the skull of Gul'dan and transformed, was powerful Demon magic. By default I have become a Demon. But in name and power only. I still have a brain that does more than snarl to itself and lust for brawling. And you'd do well to remember that Mavia is my officer. She joined my forces here in Outland, so she belongs to me. Perhaps, if you had acted sooner… you could have her. But you took too long to make your move."

Illidan waited for Fennore's response. He hefted the satchel he'd brought higher up on his shoulder. "A Demon can be taught. Demons can think and they have feelings. That gives them the capacity for much more. Forgive me, but I believe you are willfully neglecting their full potential, My Lord, by condemning them to such a useless existence."

"I'll tell your Mavia that when I turn her over and take her from behind. She'll have caught her breath by then and can make a reasonable answer. And I rather like hearing her voice break and struggle…" Illidan began laughing. "…Trying to fight and kill me. Her, a mere succubus, kill me? Ha… it's so pitiful, almost adorable."

Reflexively, Fennore summoned his sparkling Seal of the Crusader. Golden light flashed around his feet, in anticipation of the fight.

"Do it… I'd like a good reason to snap you in half, for coming in here so often and wasting my time, because you lust after one of _my_ soldiers! Do you think this is some sort of game? I am the Lord of Outland! You are like my slave, no better than any of these others. Now, as punishment, I am going to take your woman, and I am going to enjoy her for however long she lives in my harem. And you will never come back here again and make a fool of yourself, your Prince, or me!"

"Lord Illidan—"

"SILENCE! This is graciousness… I thought you'd have learned that by now, Fennore the Immortal. Truly a testament to your name, I've given you more second chances than most, because of your unique skill. Now, get out of my sight!"

All Fennore could do was bow and leave.

When Fennore left the East Wing of the Black Temple, where the majority of Illidan's men lived and worked, he had to walk down the great Main Causeway, towards the old Sunfury Barracks. Kurgal, the stable master, had his flying Nether Drake mount waiting on the roof, and he knew the way up from that side. Fennore took his time as he went, regretting feeling so powerless to help Mavia. He looked into old rooms, chanced a glance inside the Northern Wing, where the Naga camp used to be. Five years ago, they called it The Lagoon, and it was done in muted blue light that made everything look underwater. There was always harp music and good wine… it was like a pleasure palace. But now when he peered inside, the broken blue tile floor was still flooded in some places, but the water was stagnant, the gentle green reeds overgrown. It smelled and looked like a fetid swamp. Somewhere, in that mess, he had tried to win Mavia over for the first time. And Pyorin…Fennore laughed about it now, though he was furious with him then, had ended up sleeping with her instead. It was a long story, but Fennore accepted that it was out of his hands, and Pyorin's hands really at the time. Pyorin hadn't wanted her, but Mavia wanted the Tank. That was her choice. But the two didn't stay together. Fennore had found hope in that, decided that he would work hard to become the sort of man Mavia wanted, if only for a precious moment, like the one Pyorin got to have with her.

Fennore couldn't explain his feelings. He couldn't justify them. He knew they were strange, but he was crazy about that succubus. But even thinking about failing her again, when she was clearly in so much trouble broke his heart. And Illidan… he wanted to _kill_ Illidan.

He decided to take one final look at the old Sunfury barracks before saying good bye to the Black Temple and all its sore memories once and for all. And… to Mavia.

There was nothing out in the Great Hall, where the Sunfury used to sleep. That was a disappointment. The place was normally so noisy, with stir-crazy soldiers milling about everywhere. Fennore turned back to leave, when he noticed the door to his old room was ajar. He, Pyorin, and Sunthraze shared that room once. He'd already looked into Saturna's old room next door, and that was too painful. But maybe, for old time's sake…

The mesmerizing red Demon woman sat in his old cot, waiting.

"Mavia!"

She didn't look happy. "I knew you would come. Please, shut the door."

Fennore eagerly did as he was told.

"I am hiding from Lord Illidan. No, he has not completed the ritual to make me one of his harem yet... but I have very little time left as a free Demoness. His patience with me grows short." Mavia said. Her whip was coiled on the floor beneath her tiny cloven hooves. It made Fennore sad to see it. She was normally so confident. Now, it was a useless weapon in the face of such a bleak future as Illidan's plaything.

"There was a time… when I would be honored for him to recognize me." She folded her hands in her lap. "But no longer. Demonesses flee from him, they cower before him… he is especially rough with us. After Saturna… she died and the joy—I hadn't realized there was merriment until too late—left the Black Temple. Because when she died, Kael'thas fled. He returned to Outland, but he went directly to Tempest Keep because he was terrified of his own friend. We should have known that was the beginning of the end, a bad omen. After the Blood Elf Prince went, Lady Vashj took her Naga and they left too. She was not going to linger when there was no more pleasing Illidan. She got what she wanted from him, and would she continue working so hard to compete with her political rival, a slave? No, Kael'thas was utterly beaten. We were proud of Illidan at first… but when it felt like we were sealed up in that Shrine, with only his madness as our music, no more Naga victory parties, the casino gone savage and chaotic to the point of uselessness without Pyorin… we were back to squabbling over rubbage piles and blackened fire pits again. I had to barter my cards last week… my precious soulbound Darkmoon Faire Cards that started everything with you Bloodknights, my… friends." She paused, unsettled to have let that slip out. "I gave up the cards to escape Illidan's advances. Another Demon girl took them in exchange and went ahead of my place, to his bed. What I gave her should have been enough to buy me a few more years, that is how valuable that full deck was. Now… Illidan used her up in three weeks… a matter of days…"

Fennore sat next to her on the cot and wrapped his arms around her. "Mavia, I'm so sorry that I was late, I took too long…"

"I've lived longer than any other succubus here. I know the weaknesses of the other Demons well, that is why Illidan selected me to discipline them. Yes there are Generals and lieutenants, but Demons need punishment as well. And breaking spirits… I am so very good at that. I am the most powerful one, the most respected, Fennore. There was a time when it was the greatest honor to serve the Lord of Outland, to catch his eye. Wherever I went, other Demons would be jealous of me. I was proud. But no more, Fennore… we're all damned because Illidan has lost his mind… because he is damned."

Fennore couldn't calm her down. That frightened him, because he didn't think Demons could cry. He tried something else. "I brought something for you."

Mavia dried her tears. "Old friend… that doesn't matter now, at the end of time." She reached for him. "Just come to me…" but Mavia left off doing what came so natural to all succubae when she saw what it was.

Fennore took a skull from the leather satchel he carried and gave it to her. Mavia held it in trembling claws.

"My master…" she looked up at the Bloodknight. "I escaped his clutches long ago. Where did you find his head?"

It was a grim subject, and Fennore tried not to smile too much, though he was proud of his efforts. "Attached to his body, Mavia. When I killed him for you. I burned the rest, but before that I made him suffer. This is the only part of him left."

Mavia the succubus dug her claws into the dull yellow bone of the fresh skull.

"He was an evil man, that he even lived this long is a testament to that." She recalled. "Hundreds of years ago, I made a deal with the worst kinds of people to get away from him, though it should not have been possible for a succubus pet to quit her master. They broke his hold over me though. Then, I lived with my saviors for many decades, killing and fighting for them like a savage, but free. But then, I grew to hate their ways as well. I left them too. Fennore, I enjoyed my true freedom and went to various places. I met Dark Iron Dwarves, spent time in the casinos of Undermine… I was a curiosity, I found that to be a strength. Because wherever people were curious about a free succubus, I was welcomed. Eventually, I came to Outland and found Lord Illidan. That was when I felt I had purpose. At last, I could exact revenge on those people like my master, who murdered entire families, committed wanton acts of moral depravity, such that even a succubus would be repulsed by. I thought I was doing the right thing by siding with him against the Legion, because Illidan was mean enough to fight back all the masters of the world, a Demon stronger than everyone, our champion."

She set the skull down on the floor and moved closer to Fennore on the hammock. "Why did you do this for me? I've given you nothing."

The blonde Blood Elf reached down and brought her red hand to his lips, and kissed it. "I wanted to know more about you back then, when we first met, so I started looking. The whole time I was here at the Black Temple, and then over the three years after… When Saturna died, I decided that I was not going to let something like that happen to a woman that I loved, because of Illidan. I found your master. Thousands of gold pieces and a handful of Kael'thas' most clever spies later, and I found him. Wasting away in Shatthrath City. That's where the most ruined people tend to be going these days. He was a poor old man, who kept alive by vile magical means but I didn't care. I just killed him. I am a healer, but also a murderer, Mavia. If it meant that you could be free from him. If you could stop hiding. I could tell from the start that you were only here with Illidan because you were hiding. And that Human warlock… he _was_ still looking for you, after all that time. Now you are truly free, Mavia. I did it for you, because I wanted you to feel safe."

Mavia didn't smile at him. There was nothing to smile about, not the way that Demons did it.

"You did all of this just to impress me? Fennore the Immortal, you are the strongest man I know." She kissed him, but that twisted into something worse. She bit him and drew blood.

Fennore came up from the violent kiss, gasping for breath. "I… I think I liked that." He touched fingertips to his mouth and healed himself.

Mavia the Maneater purred long and low. "Tell me honestly, is this all you wanted from me, to have sex with me, Fennore the Immortal?"

Fennore floundered, "I… I'm not sure? I never thought things would go so well between us. Are you offering!"

"I want to have sex with you." She climbed on top of him, and bit his neck. Fennore shuddered, but there was an exhilarating relief that came with the pain, the thrill of having survived her touch. He healed himself again.

Mavia completely undressed. Fennore erupted in giddy smiles. It was an unholy pleasure, to be sure, to see a womanly body—a woman who was not a woman—that was so perfect. It went against nature, it wasn't fair. No mortal woman was made like that, and he knew it. But Fennore wanted to cross that line, to love the Demoness, to make love to the impossible woman… in his old bed. Now, there was something about that too.

"Master… May I call you master?" she whimpered for him, begging, "How would you like it, my Master? I will do whatever you ask."

"Really?" he yelped.

Mavia grinned at him, but that contorted into a feral snarl. "I've been living a long time. I know all the tricks, every last one of them. Now tell me, what is your heart's deepest, darkest desire? I am so… enflamed with you right now," she licked his face, "I would even kill you if you asked me to, in the very best way," Mavia kissed him again. "Though I don't want to end you, not so soon. Tell me, my Master, my sweet darling Master… what is it you wish?"

"By the Sun! I love you… Damn me! I can't even think, Mavia?"

Mavia impatiently began to pull off the red plate armor. He jerked and grunted as she yanked it.

Now they were both naked. "Last chance…" she hissed. "Do you mean to torture me? This is painful, you're hurting me. Please pick something, now!"

"But you won't lose your mind will you? Will I break you?"

"One broken Bloodknight, coming up!"

Fennore didn't get a chance to tell her to stop. Mavia straddled him. He half-moaned, half-cried for mercy. Her black lips stretched into a sick, lustful smile. Mavia was seeing his limit for the first time and went aggressively after it, pushed beyond what he was capable of bearing with dignity. Mavia laughed when Fennore came, too quickly. He was incredibly embarrassed about it, but found himself apologizing to a woman who adored how easy he was to destroy.

"If you are still capable of speech, then no, we are not done yet." And she sank her teeth into Fennore's neck and started again.

Finally, the hammock that was tied fast to two nails in the wall, buckled under the pressure. One of the rope ends frayed. Mavia saw it coming and aimed her victim so that he crashed onto the floor first. Bones certainly snapped… and it wasn't the skull of Mavia's master either. That ended their loud, painful sex at last.

"My… back…Oh," Fennore groaned and reached up an arm, swatted aimlessly in the direction.

Mavia laughed wickedly and… for what they were doing, the best word is dismounted. She lay at his side and in true succubus style, put another hurt on top of his current one with one last angry kiss.

"Now… I think this is the best time to ask you, Fennore the Immortal, if you would bind yourself to me, as my real master? I need one to keep Illidan from enslaving me, since then my soul will be taken. Enough demons here have masters that he won't be upset. Rare as we are, Illidan certainly understands that we have colored pasts. I will be free of his harem."

Fennore winced and turned red. "Is that what this was about?"

"Yesss… but I also trust you because you are weak. Though, I did not expect you to bring me my master's skull, like some perrrfectly pathetic trained dog. That was a wonderful surprise. Before, I was not sure if my Human master still lived, and so wanted you to try enslaving me one way or the other… But Master Fennore, you've given me confirmation that my standing with Illidan is in fact so dire. You see, I need you. So… very… much. There, there, don't be afraid." She gave a false smile. "This will be a kindly enslavement, not another life sentence for me… Nor for you, if you behave. Yes, it will be unfair, like you fear because I'm really too strong for you, Fennore the Immortal. I still hold all the cards, all the power and you sense this. You're no warlock because you've got no training, but you still understand. A silly Bloodknight with a Demon fetish is all that you are. But it is still enough to save me, and that is what you want isn't it? No, I am seducing you now and I can feel it. It isn't for a noble purpose that you have returned. You only want to free me from Illidan so that you can keep me for yourself, to own me and all my sexual skills with nether magic. It isn't love. Don't fool yourself." She was sweet again, "But I won't judge you my Master. Just take me. I'm nearly yours… And I promise that, if you're good… I won't break your mind and leave you a whimpering heap very often, like you are now." She seized his jaw in two clawed fingers. "So then, are we in agreement?"

Fennore groaned that they were.

"Now, hold still… this won't hurt a bit." She sliced a claw down the inside of his wrist, and then did the same to her own. Fennore cried, he hurt so much now. She forced his fingers over hers, and applied pressure. Mavia got excited, she begged Fennore to look at his vein as it turned black.

"It's almost done, do you see! Look, Master!"

"I don't wanna see! Gaaah! Why didn't I listen to Kael'thas?" he broke down and cried.

"You are so cute when you despair." Mavia kissed him again. "And now…" she took a claw and drew Demonic runes in the pool of blood their wrists dripped onto the floor. When she was done, the blood set ablaze, a purple fire rose and consumed what they seeped into it together, their wrists bound by the stain of blood, now and forever. Then the fire grew and burned both their fists. Mavia screamed with the rush of it. Fennore was crying for his mommy.

Then, it was done.

Mavia the Maneater sat on his chest, her hips far too close to his face to be decent. Fennore was in too much pain to notice.

"My darling Master, would you heal yourself already? It was convenient a little while ago, when I needed to trick you, but now it's just pathetic."

"I would have… but I need my other arm."

Mavia leaned over him, teasing him with ember-red breasts that she knew Fennore was in too much pain to try and enjoy, but still wanted against his will because he was weak and mortal. Fennore surely loathed his desire for her now after everything and Mavia savored how she corrupted those delicate feelings. After she freed the arm trapped behind his back, Mavia pretended to become suddenly entranced by his fingers, licked them. The point being, to delay his healing spell and so prolong the awful suffering of a now tainted Bloodknight. To force the sworn Demon-slayer to stiffen and rise again though he was damned.

Mavia got very excited realizing this. "Oh, Master, I am going to destroy you. You have been fucked in two excellent ways this day. First with your cock, and now… your future ruined. Oh, my pathetic darling, how perfect."

Fennore at last managed to call up a spell strong enough to heal his back. Mavia was delighted the entire time she watched him conjure Light borne of such a darkened heart. She crawled back down the length of him and purred.

Fennore tilted his head back, exhausted by everything. "I'm still in love with you."

"I was counting on that, Master."

"And I don't care how it ended up, I still got to sleep with you."

Mavia nestled into his shoulder. "Indeed you did. Wasn't it wonderful?"

Fennore finally caught his breath. "You broke my back. Maybe that will soften the blow when I tell Kael'thas and the guys… I can brag that you broke my back. Mavia, what if I wasn't able to heal myself?"

"Then you'd be paralyzed and I'd come in here every once in a while to sneak you food while enjoying my freedom from Illidan."

"Oh… you are vicious! Just vicious! Why did I think I could trust you with my heart? Are you at least my girlfriend then? Or is this a one night stand?"

Mavia leaned up on her elbows, truly amused. "Fennore, what part of 'Master' don't you understand? This is a trade… though I doubt you'll get as much out of it as a fully trained warlock. That is partly why I picked you. If I have to have another master, I don't want to have one like that despicable Human I had. All you're capable of giving me is freedom from Illidan's advances. That is all I want, that is all I need. You're too weak to get anything else from me Master, ever."

"What! So I spent three years of my life, searching desperately for your previous owner, all for nothing? That loving gesture meant nothing to you? And you said that I was the strongest man you knew!"

"Master Fennore, Demons can't fall in love." She admonished him. "And what I said earlier was a little white lie… to get me in the mood. It worked wonders, don't you agree?"

Fennore started his whimpering again. He said he wanted to die.

"Careful, Master. I am soulbound to you now. I might be tempted to follow an order like that."

"You're enjoying this." He frowned.

"When I decided this was the only way for me to be safe, yes, I realized that this might be an enjoyable situation. I enjoy torturing you. That is the other reason that I felt safe enough to enslave myself to you, besides your inherent weakness. I _like_ bothering you."

Fennore started to smile again. "So… you like me?"

"I like _bothering_ you. There's a difference. Allow me to demonstrate," Mavia took his hand gently in her own. "Like you…" she massaged his palm, kissed it. "Like bothering you." She used her Demon strength to grasp it, applied so much pressure that she could crush it if she wanted. "You see, this is fun. I've never seen a man cry like you do. An adorable wussy healer, that is what you are."

"You adore me? Really?"

Mavia got annoyed and the bones cracked.

"Aaah! Stop!"

She sighed, but Mavia had to obey now. She belonged to him. Fennore lay on his side, rubbing and healing his hand. He looked at her curiously for a long time. "What you did to me was mean, you used me because you knew I had feelings for you."

Mavia shrugged that she didn't care.

"One day, you will care though. I believe in you… everyone thinks that I'm crazy for loving you, a succubus, but I've been in love before. I'm a grown man, I know what this is. You'll see it too, in time."

"As you wish, my Master."

"Oh, I'm about to wish a lot of things, Miss Maneater. Like, for starters, I order you to be with me right now, the way it should be between two lovers."

She climbed on top of him.

"Oh no… I'm in charge." He got up and leaned over her. "Your first lesson as a Demon with a heart begins now. Are you paying attention? I am going to show you what it really feels like, when two people make love."

"Alright, but if you don't even bite me, I'll get bored. Master Fennore, I've had sex with mortal men before. Younger Demonesses tend to lose their minds, like you were worried about earlier. Someone like me, who has cheated death for hundreds of years, has been safely around the block a few times. Master, you are wasting your time with me. I know fear and I know pain… that is all—"

Fennore kissed her gently until she stopped resisting. "Then why, my sweet love, do you sound so bitter about it?"

He held her in strong arms, caressed and spoke kind words to her, was sensitive to her desires as she revealed them. When they were done, Fennore held her close. Mavia the Maneater found herself hugging a Bloodknight. It went against all that Mavia had ever known, but for the tribulations in her life, it felt good to be truly this safe at last.


	12. The Coven of Two

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Eleven: The Coven of Two  
**

The next morning, Fennore strode into Kael'thas' office with a tall red succubus on his arm. Mavia held him the way a lady did a gentleman when they were out for a congenial stroll in the park, and kept looking all around herself, charmed by the beauty of Tempest Keep. Every once in a while, she stole a similar look from the darkly handsome blonde, though slightly odd gentleman who escorted her. Kael'thas looked up from his work, very disturbed to see it.

Belorim was not there. He was being watched by Daphne this time, in the other room.

"Fennore…" Kael'thas growled. "What did you do?"

"Kael'thas, I want you to meet my girlfriend—"

"Slave." Mavia corrected him.

"…Mavia the Maneater."

Kael'thas looked from one strange person to the other. "I am going to speak in my calmest tone of voice, so that Illidan can't sense the shift in my emotions and hear. For your sakes, I hope it is enough." He put his pen back into the inkwell. "Why is one of Illidan's esteemed officers calling herself your slave?"

"Because she tricked me into it yesterday. Isn't that wonderful?"

Kael'thas balled fists on his desk. "Are you out of your gourd? That's not good news at all." He'd resorted to snarling because he couldn't raise his voice.

"Wait, it gets better. Illidan was trying to enslave Mavia so that she could join his harem, to spite me. He couldn't bind her soul, so he couldn't have her… it was Mavia's plan for me to help her with it. Wasn't that brilliant of her? And however she used me was alright, because we get along fine now, don't we Miss Maneater?"

Mavia actually smiled back at him, and coyly patted Fennore's arm. "Yes, my Master. My sweet, stupid Fennore."

He shrugged. "Well, it's a start. However this happened, it's a result of me wearing her down, just like you said. She could have asked anyone, you know, but she wanted me." Fennore beamed.

"But you're a freaking Bloodknight, Fennore. You can't _have_ a warlock pet." Kael'thas covered his face. "This is real, isn't it, Mavia? I'm asking you because you seem to be the brains of this operation."

"Yes, Prince Kael'thas. Fennore is really my pet, because the bond is imbalanced between us, but I like calling him Master."

Kael'thas came around the desk to stand before them.

"Mavia you understand who I am don't you?" He forced himself to speak pleasantly, though it was undoubtedly a threat. "I am a powerful warlock. So powerful that when your Lord Illidan was afraid, he begged me to enslave him. So powerful that, even though he shouldn't, he still lets me have my way, now and again." He pulled open the red collar of his royal regalia. "Even with this damned thing around my neck."

"Yes, I am aware of these things." She lifted her chin.

"And so, what makes you think that I am just going to sit idly by while you take advantage of one of my men? Especially Fennore the Immortal. However harmless he seems to you, he is a fierce warrior by our standards. He is the most powerful healer we have."

"So?"

Kael'thas snorted arrogantly at her. "So? Both you and he now belong to me, that's what. I'm your master now."

"But Kael'thas! This isn't fair, you already have a succubus!"

"You idiot." Kael'thas rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to train you to be a warlock. A good one. This succubus is going to completely corrupt you if I don't. You have no choice. Welcome to your coven of two. In fact, that's clever, I'll think I'll call it the Coven of Two."

"But Mavia makes three."

"Lesson number one. Always call me Master Kael'thas. You _will_ learn to fear me, if you don't already, Fennore. Someone has got to be in charge of this mess. Second, Mavia is not a person. No excuses. Only you and I come into the equation when important decisions need to be made. Our lives depend on that. Now, your first assignment is to go outside and schedule our next coven meeting with Advisor Sorn. And Fennore, don't go asking him to pencil 'Coven of Two' in my calendar, pick an alias. Obviously, this is a dangerous sort of secret since we are going behind Illidan's back. He will be furious with us if he ever finds out what you've done."

Still smiling, though a little confused, Fennore opened the door for Mavia.

"Oh and Fennore," Kael'thas spoke up again, "Put her back! She is still Illidan's ally, not your friend, not until you are fully trained can we even begin to think of trusting Mavia. Her home is still the Black Temple."

Mavia frowned at this.

"Oh, but you see, she lives here now. Lord Illidan wasn't happy that it turned out Mavia already belonged to some obscure old warlock out there—who being anybody's guess, and not worth the trouble when there are so many other available female demons—and said something about Mavia having to stay here in Tempest Keep as a spy for him. Of course, he said it was something about being an ambassador, but Mavia is my pet, she told me the truth. Illidan thinks I'll be tortured by her constant presence, and that Mavia will seduce me to get information about what you're really up to over here, my Prince, but he doesn't know that I'm actually her master. Isn't that nice?"

Kael'thas mumbled a string of profanities then. "Of course I wasn't notified about this first. I would only object and send her right back, and then what chance would Mavia have of wheedling information out of you, under my nose." He drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment, thinking. "Well, it will give us time to train you. But we're going to need some house rules first. Number one: No summoning of Mavia. Your enslaving her has made you too bold already, flaunting her like that. Sure, Illidan is hoping you two will get along famously, but if she fawns on you too much, the truth will become more than obvious. I'll have a separate room made up for you, Mavia, and I expect you to use it. But I'm not anyone's father. I won't be making the same mistake my father did. What you do in the privacy of your quarters is your own business. Just no summoning, no ordering her to attack anyone, no being a warlock until I show you what that means. Understand? Every time you call on Mavia's power, you take from the Nether and make yourself stronger. We don't have time to start you off with a harmless imp pet; this will have to do."

Mavia stroked Fennore's arm as she listened. From Fennore's expression, she seemed to be the only one listening.

Kael'thas turned to Mavia instead. "And if you or your… Bloodknight pet do anything stupid, or far worse, make Illidan wise and condemn us all to death, I will make you hurt so bad you will wish Illidan was still your master. You will beg for one moment with him in that disgusting harem he has going. Do we understand each other? Don't think I'm not capable of it."

Fennore saluted, and charmed with his gesture, Mavia attempted to imitate it. Kael'thas winced. Whether he wanted to appreciate it or not, the gesture was very cute. It was something like what Belorim might do, because he was still learning.

"Now just… please go. I feel another migraine coming on."

When Fennore got out into the hallway, and the elaborate doors to Kael'thas' office slid shut, he stopped Mavia in her tracks and kissed her.

Mavia purred that she liked it. Four of Lady Liadrin's Bloodknights who were watching the door looked especially disturbed to see one of their own consorting with a Demon like that.

Fennore offered his elbow, and she again linked her arm in his. "I never believed that a Bloodknight could be a gentleman, towards a Demon."

"Come back with me to my room right now, my dearest Mavia, and I could be a whole lot more to you."

Mavia purred and whispered, "Will you let me break your back again? Please… I so enjoyed watching you cry, and bleed… Except I want you to call my name this time, not your mother's."

Fennore scratched his head nervously. "Are you sure you don't want to just make love, the way I showed you?"

Mavia reached around and pinched his backside. "That _is_ how I make love, Master Fennore. Now stop being a wuss. I know you can heal yourself through all of it." She pulled him into a faster walk.

They passed by Pyorin's door on the way to Fennore's room.

"Mavia! What in the hell—"

"Long story, tell you at dinner." Fennore said hurriedly to Pyorin. Mavia used her claw to pick the lock on the door in a matter of seconds while Fennore fumbled with the key. Then she opened it and yanked him inside.

"Why dinner?" Pyorin called, "It's nine o'clock in the morning… Oh."

Pyorin laughed as he walked down the hallway to begin his day. "Oh, man… old Sunthraze is never going to believe this. Hmm… maybe I should take bets…"

Nor did the Bloodknight Tank miss that Mavia had completely ignored him this time around. It felt good to be off the hook at last… or so Pyorin thought. He nor any of the others had the slightest idea of what Fennore had got himself into this time.

And considering what Fennore and Mavia were doing right then… That sort of ignorance was most likely for the best.

Author's Note:

To be continued after the holiday… Kael'thas' Winter's Veil Party for Naughty Boys and Girls who Can't Act Good is next!


	13. Kael'thas Winter's Veil Party

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Twelve: Kael'thas' Winter's Veil Party for Naughty Boys and Girls who can't Act Good**

Later that same day, Kael'thas had another guest.

Belorim came into his office from the other room, talking really fast in his high pitched voice. He was nearly screaming it, and waved scrawled on papers at his father.

"Bim Bim, I can't understand you—"

Daphne rushed in then. "I'm sorry, I know you said to keep him in the other room so you could focus. But I started to tell him a story and—"

"DADDY! DO WE HAVE A CHIMNEY?!"

Kael'thas cringed and covered one long ear. He made up his mind right then that the cuteness, and the tendency towards terrifying excitability had certainly come from his mother's side of the family. The dreaded annoying fangirl side…

"No, Bim. There isn't one here… you already know that."

"Really, Kael'thas, this is all my fault. I'll just take him…"

"Then how is Greatfather Winter gonna' give us the presents!"

"Ah, I see. Well, I think he has enough magic to find a way into Tempest Keep without a chimney to climb down. So, you're looking forward to getting gifts for Winter's Veil are you?"

"No." he put hands on his little hips. "You're getting coal!"

"What? No I'm not!"

"Are too. And so am I, but we have two days left to be good. Daphne said."

Kael'thas glanced up at Daphne unhappily.

"I didn't… say either of you were bad. Belorim decided that on his own."

"Then we'll get presents. Okay? So Daddy you have to be good now."

Before Kael'thas could decline, a Bloodknight guard just outside announced Tempest, Pyorin, Sunthraze, Mavia the Maneater and Fennore.

"My Life for my Prince." They strode in and saluted together. Mavia had her version down pretty well by now, though she had an odd way of snarl-smiling at Kael'thas.

"Bim, Daddy has a meeting right now, is it okay if we talk about this later?"

Belorim looked ready to say no, but Daphne offered him more crayons and he went happily back into the next room. Kael'thas stacked and set the crumpled colorings aside on his desk. All of them depictions of Greatfather Winter giving his daddy lumps of coal. Kael'thas cringed.

"You rang?" Sunthraze stretched and yawned.

Kael'thas ignored him. "We have a situation, and I want you to deal with it in the way that I say, not according to what Lady Liadrin might want. That's why I called you up here alone."

Pyorin nodded. "I'll fill in Daphne later, since she has to babysit."

"Riiight…" Kael'thas averted his eyes momentarily, recovering from the sarcasm too late. Pyorin was startled to see that even his superior knew about his interest in the elusive Daphne. Tempest's reaction to this was unreadable. She'd started up a cigarette. "Well, here's the situation. The Arakkoa down in Shadowmoon Valley are going through some sort of civil unrest and it's affecting Illidan's other forces. Normally, this is not where I'd be asked to lend a hand, but they trade in delicate arcane and nether goods our scientists need and I can't afford to lose something on that end. Essentially, you all are being volun-_told_. I'll need each of you to arm yourselves and take out the dissenting village under the guise of—"

"Daddy!" Belorim came back.

"Yes, son?"

"No fighting! We have to be good, 'member?" he squeaked before Daphne apologized once more and escorted him back out of the office.

Kael'thas cleared his throat. "Well then… Alright, scratch that. What I'll have you do is kidnap the chieftain and—"

"No kidnap… Daphne what does kidnap mean? Okay… no stealing people, Daddy!"

Kael'thas sighed heavily.

"My Prince," Tempest spoke with the cigarette hanging from the side of her mouth, "… Perhaps it's none of our business, but you don't have to take strategic advice from a three-year-old."

"Yeah," Sunthraze crossed his arms. "What's going on here, anyway? How come he gets a say…"

"Daddy! I thinked of something!"

Daphne was right on Belorim's heels this time. "That is, you've thought of something, Prince Belorim. You have a good idea."

"If we make a party for Greatfather Winter then he has to come. Like when you made the party for mommy?"

Pyorin boggled, "Wait, how does he know about the ball—"

"Well…" Kael'thas conceded, "It _could_ work." But the way he eyed his Bloodknights just then, it looked like he was trying to peg someone to wear the red holiday suit.

"Kael'thas, you could do it." Sunthraze smirked. "That paunch you've grown over the years is very Dwarven." Tempest almost choked on her cigarette in an effort to keep from laughing.

"You know what Sunthraze, you can go straight to—"

"No swearing!"

Kael'thas finally picked Belorim up and sat him in his lap. "Alright, new assignment. My son wants a Winter's Veil Party, and he wants Greatfather Winter to be there. You all are responsible for going out and getting him…" and Kael'thas gave a look that intimated any coerced jolly lookalike Dwarf would do.

"Can there be kids there?"

Kael'thas honestly didn't know of any other little girls and boys for Belorim to play with.

"I think… there are some Naga children in Underbog." Sunthraze shrugged. "No that… I want Lady Vashj to come this thing." Pyorin and the others had similar ideas. Mavia knew better than anyone else who among Illidan's allies had 'a weakness for birthing spawn' as Mavia put it. As they stood and planned, Kael'thas began to realize just how important this was to his son. It would be Belorim's first Winter's Veil. And Lady Liadrin had cautioned Kael'thas that it could also be the boy's last…

He set Belorim down and stood. "Bloodknights. You are to go to every length to make this the best holiday possible for my son, the young Prince of Quel'thalas. This has to be the best celebration in all of Outland, I don't care what other people think. Got it!"

Daphne whispered to Pyorin, "Does that mean Kael'thas wants us to crash and so slight other Winter's Veil celebrations, or just work extra hard on this one?"

Pyorin answered, "The first thing you said is far easier, actually. And I like that you value my opinion so much, Daphne. So… if I told you that you had a great body, would you hold it against me?"

Daphne didn't get it.

"We'll handle it alright, won't we Daphs?" Tempest stepped between the two of them.

"We… will?"

"Yep. I have an idea too, a great one. But of course…" and she took a long drag of her smoke then, "It involves a good wingwoman."

Mavia thought that meant her, and flexed her wings idly. "Well, if that is what Master Kael'thas desires?"

Everyone looked confused by the Prince's new title then. Kael'thas told them to 'get going and don't come back until it was done'… That seemed to disseminate the tension.

When the Bloodknights were gone, Belorim asked his father, "Daddy? Can I be a kitty?"

"What?"

"For the party. What are you going to be?"

"Oh… well, son it isn't Hallow's End exactly. Those are two different—" No, Belorim had missed that opportunity as well. So many holidays that his son only knew about in passing, so many things about the world he might miss out on… why draw boundaries? "Belorim, you can have whatever you want at your Winter's Veil party. I'll order everyone to come in costume. How about that? It will be something brand new and special just for us… Heh. A Winter's Veil party for all the naughty girls and boys."

"Daddy, I'm gonna' be good though. And you have to be too, so we'll get presents."

Kael'thas felt he knew his son well by now. No, neither of them were very good at behaving, but the opposite. "Bim, don't worry. I won't ruin Winter's Veil for you. Greatfather Winter is going to come here to Tempest Keep and you are going to get the gift you've been dreaming of, I promise."

"She says you changed the subject."

Kael'thas raised his eyebrows. "Oh, her again. Well, tell her I said that I'm your father and I don't care what she thinks—"

"She says…" and Belorim was confused about this message and screwed up his little face, "you're already on a short leash… don't push it? Daddy, what does that mean?"

Kael'thas leaned back in his chair and eyed his son curiously. "It means your imaginary friend must think she's married to me, to browbeat me like a wife. You tell her I don't take orders from invisible women. But first, go wash your hands for lunch…"

Seething disquiet pervaded the room after that. Kael'thas decided not to be intimidated by ghosts of his imagination. Not when he had to figure out how to steal a holiday for his son.

_Much later in Shatthrath City…_

Pyorin, Fennore, and Sunthraze had raised a ruckus in Shatthrath City one too many times in the past for this sort of work. Therefore, Tempest, Daphne, and Mavia stood in one of the many decorated grand archways that opened into the Terrace of Light. The old stone of the ruined pavilion normally appeared a dusky tan, but the Shatthrath City peacekeepers had scrubbed it late into the previous night by torchlight until it shone near to golden. Laden green garlands of aromatic pine were hung over each stone arch. Every now and again a winter breeze jostled those and the tiny soft needles rained down. People paused at mistletoe, only able to smile shyly at each other in this city-sized temple. Draenei Aldor priests and disciplined Blood Elf Scryer Librarians walked about sharing good tidings of the season with the crowd. And sometimes, when no one was looking, with each other. An enormous tree—they said it had been cut at the far southeastern reaches of Terrokkar forest where the foliage was pristine and still unblemished by the corruption at Auchindoun was set up near A'dal himself.

A'dal, the leader of the Army of Light and a being of pure Light magic himself, could not take a break from the important work of shielding Shatthrath city to enjoy festivities. However, the larger than life shimmering Naaru seemed to sing in his melodic magical voice, like a windchime in a distant dream. A dream from childhood of the snowy winter world beyond the window, mysterious and tantalizing next to a persistent summer chime mom never took down from the porch, out of the cold wind. The Winter Veil was going to pass over the world once again, one season blending into another…

"Greatfather Winter is coming, the season will change, love. I hope you've been good. I hope that you're ready."

Tempest smiled a little crookedly at Daphne who had been recalling her entire charmed childhood to them then. Mavia hissed through her perfect black lips and made it evil. The three women were dressed irreverently in short and flimsy fur-lined winter's veil outfits. Black with red fuzzy trim of course. That had been Tempest's idea.

The leather whips and weighted rope net were Mavia's.

Daphne frowned at her accomplices. "When I suggested that we be festive and blend in… I didn't mean walk out of some creepy man's—"

"Love dungeon." Mavia purred.

"I was going to say out of Kael'thas' porn-trait of poor Saturna… but I suppose it's the same thing really." Tempest flashed a brief smile at Mavia. Daphne cringed. Naturally, the Bloodknights didn't trust Fennore's new Demon friend but Mavia was clearly starting to grow on Tempest. Sometimes, it was like the two of them had been separated at birth.

They were drawing way too much attention. All kinds of creatures ogled the ladies as they arrived at A'dal's Winter's Veil party.

A plush red chair small enough for a Dwarf was set up underneath the great tree. Wrapped presents, real presents for individuals with name tags and all according to the excited passerby, waited to be handed out by the man himself. As a reward for their valiant efforts against the Burning Legion over the past few years, A'dal announced that Greatfather Winter himself was coming to personally hand out gifts to every soldier, orphan-matron, Skettis Outcast, or vagabond allied with the Army of Light.

There was already a long line forming before Greatfather Winter's empty chair. A winding scarlet rope helped to keep the excited whispering guests orderly in the beautiful temple.

Then they blew the horns. It began to snow directly over A'dal and the tree. A white moonbeam shone over the throne of Greatfather Winter, and suddenly there he was.

"HO HO HO… HAPPY WINTER'S VEIL EVERYONE!" He greeted the whole world it seemed, to a round of heartfelt cheering. The Scryers had a chorus set up and they started singing one of the millennia-old Thalassian Winter's Veil ballads in the old language. The Aldor priests went through the crowd wearing green and red festival hats, tossing wrapped candy and ringing bells to children. It sounded and looked so very wonderful.

Tempest waved them forward. "Ho, ho, ho indeed. Come on girls. Greatfather Winter is getting a slut, a virgin, and a succubus for Winter's Veil." She reached over and slapped Daphne's hand away from where she was trying to pull down her own miniskirt, then strutted forward on the inches-high back leather boots that were standard Nexite uniform for them all this evening.

Mavia growled and tossed a little Sporeling child out of Greatfather Winter's lap when she and the other two women cut in line. Shatar Peacekeepers looked concerned, but Tempest and Daphne flashed enough skin in their outfits to make everyone hesitate. Daphne smiled and giggled like nothing was wrong and herded the rest of the children at the front of the line to see Greatfather Winter back behind scarlet ropes.

Tempest half-smiled, half sneered at the old Dwarf. "I came allll the way from Netherstorm for you, daddy. I get to go first."

The disappointment on the old Dwarf's face faded in an instant when he saw what she was wearing. Greatfather Winter scratched his abundant white beard and smiled.

"Really now? Have you finally decided to leave the Sunfury and join the army of the Light, Lucia?" he'd whispered it.

Tempest sat in his lap. "Okay, so maybe you've seen me before, or are a priest with a Mind Vision spell or something slick like that. But it doesn't change what's about to happen next, Mister. You're needed at a certain dimensional warship full of naughty girls and boys, and I don't happen to believe in Greatfather Winter. Though…" she curled a polished red fingernail into his mustache, while he smiled like a schoolboy, perhaps for the first time in hundreds of years… "It _was_ a nice trick."

"Lucia, I have to admit that I've been wanting to meet you… But I have to see to the Shatar right now—"

"You wait all year for pretty woman elves to sit in your lap like I'm doing now. Will it really hurt to indulge me a little longer?"

"You there! What are you doing disrupting these proceedings!" It was an Aldor Vindicator, a whole bunch of them.

Daphne cringed. "Where _is_ Mavia with that net—"

Greatfather Winter was momentarily distracted from Tempest's charms on hearing that. He rose both white bushy eyebrows. "Net?"

It was then that everyone gathered realized the red succubus had vanished… and now there was a pulsing Demonic rune drawn underneath the large tree, the presents, Greatfather Winter, everything that mattered. The singing of the choir began to die down.

Daphne panicked and called up her Seal of Blood spell.

"Sunfury Bloodknights!" One of the Draenei paladins finally realized what was going on and rushed in.

Tall Tempest stayed put in their victim's lap. If the old Dwarf had any magic at all, it didn't matter now. He wasn't going anywhere. Greatfather Winter looked down to see he'd been chained to his seat.

"Happy Holidays, baby. Miss Maneater, we're all set, if you please!"

The red succubus suddenly appeared again and threw the heavy net on the ambushers. But Shatthrath City was full of the enemy really, nearly every soul was a soldier. They were no match for Lord Illidan's Maneater though. She snapped her whip fast at the rest, fel magic sparked in a green arc of fel magic. Then she whisked it around thrice overhead.

Clawed hand on her hip Mavia called, "One for the money, two for the show. On three—and we're ready… To Kael'thas' naughty party we go!" Finally, she cracked her whip in the air. The gargantuan Christmas tree, the presents, the man of the hour, all gone. As usual, it wasn't apparent if mystical A'dal cared or not. Or perhaps in his wisdom, the old Naaru already knew Kael'thas was going to get what was coming to him this season.

_Kael'thas?! Damn you brazen hussies! _Greatfather Winter swore in their minds all at once.

He never made good on his threat though. A moment later and they were all teleported to a cold dark storeroom. Tempest assured Greatfather Winter that, yes, they had teleported his precious party for the Army of the Light into Tempest Keep.

"Oooh!" Daphne hopped up on the toes of her shiny black boots. "Can I be the one to go tell Kael'thas and Belorim that it worked?"

"Belorim?" Greatfather Winter wondered, still chained.

Tempest hugged around the man's neck. "Just what I thought. The real Greatfather Winter would know that Kael'thas has a son. A cute little boy who really needs to see you."

Mavia grunted that Daphne should hurry up and go when the blonde woman got too hyper and started hopping all over the place.

"And what makes you think that the immortal spirit of Winter's Veil himself wants to see any spawn of the evil Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider?" Greatfather Winter demanded. "I can already tell you what's going in his stocking. A big steaming piece of—"

"Belorim is dying." Mavia lifted her chin. "You seemed prepared to indulge all those orphan children in Shatthrath City. Will you refuse to show deference to one small three-year-old who can't help who his father is? What love and cheer can you really be spewing, if it is so fickle… Tempest, stop it."

She had been kissing Greatfather Winter's ear. And he wasn't listening either.

"I… always sort of had a thing for Greatfather Winter." She winced, "Sorry."

_At the party…_

Kael'thas had not invited Illidan, but he came anyway. The Demon Lord of Outland stalked about the lowest level of Tempest Keep called the Foyer, where the party was. The Foyer had been decorated with fake snow, red and green streamers, and real sweet-smelling holly trees adorned with pastel lights and silvery tinsel. Festive red… and Kael'thas had somehow figured out how to conjure green phoenixes, sailed overhead in the open air Core. He'd taught them how to sing basic holiday tunes in their happy voices as well. The kids loved it. Golden tables were piled with candy, cookies, and cake. Little Naga, Broken, and Ogre children screamed, laughed and ran away from Illidan. When he thought no one was looking, Illidan smiled and pretended to chase them, once. Belorim didn't seem to know or care about the racial difference between himself and the larger kids though. He grabbed their three-fingered hands or scaley claws and went around giggling and playing as if it were the best day of his life. In fact, he'd told his father that it was.

This would have made Kael'thas incredibly happy if Illidan wasn't following him around. Illidan pretended to be interested in whether Lady Vashj were coming—why hadn't Kael'thas enough sense to invite her? It was bad for their alliance, whether she engineered the collar about his neck or not, wasn't it? Didn't he see that it was cruel to treat the person who delivered him from the Alliance in this way, etcetera, etcetera… But after asking the same thing so many times, Kael'thas caught on that Illidan was just looking for an excuse to hang around him. It was very unsettling, to see how Illidan's madness made him much worse over the years. At least three years ago, Illidan seemed to have many better things to do than worry over Kael'thas. Now it was nearly all he did. And the Demon man kept smiling at Belorim with the other children. It was a look of pure fondness that made Kael'thas even more disturbed, that Illidan could still have innocent and harmless compulsions.

And who could blame Illidan for enjoying the kids, really? They ran around in little monster costumes their parents made for the event. Monsters dressed monsters…what the children considered to be scary was adorable. Several Naga children slithered around in Human masks. The Broken chief had twins sons dressed as Cenarion Circle druids, one had fake elf ears, the other had Tauren horns. There were a lot of A'dal costumes that Kael'thas had confused for snowmen at first. His favorite—and there was costume contest at that—had been a very good costume of Grand Marshal Garithos. Wave Commander Scy'thlerin's daughter was wearing that and she sprang out in front of Kael'thas from time to time, banishing him from the Alliance. He loved it. Though… it made him bit sad that such shrewdness would go unrewarded when his son was going to win anyway. Did Kael'thas' guests really expect the costume contest to be anything but fixed?

Belorim had dressed up like a fuzzy little black cat. He looked more like a puff ball with cloth cat ears sewn onto a hood though. That fastened under his little chin with strings. There was also the classic limp costume tail that dragged through dust and pieces of party streamer and broken candy wrappers on the floor. Belorim asked Daphne—whom he was starting to prefer as a baby sitter to any of the other Bloodknights—to give him whiskers. Then the boy turned around and dragged a hard black crayon across his father's face to give him whiskers too. Kael'thas pretended to enjoy it.

He'd asked his son then, "Why do you want to be a cat anyways, Bim?"

"I like them, they're bad. Anveena has a cat and it scratched me. Oh and you have to dress up too, Daddy."

"Heh. Wait a minute… who's Anveena?"

Belorim was too excited about his costume by then though.

And so, today, what had Kael'thas worn at this strange Hallow's End and Winter's Veil mish-mash party? This holiday celebration for all the naughty boys and girls who couldn't behave even if they wanted to, for their parents' awful examples? Kael'thas had some Sunfury carpenters whittle some fairly good imitation Illidan horns. It was supposed to be scary and a funny inside joke for his Blood Elf guests, an expert shot at Illidan who was not the nurturing type to come to a children's party… but when Illidan showed up and liked the look it just turned out to be embarrassing.

The two villainous men were compelled to chase after Belorim from time to time, minding what he got into, keeping him from pulling this child's hair too hard, or reaching into that one's snout to feel the sharp teeth… Kael'thas did it because he was Belorim's father. Illidan did it because… well the holiday was affecting him in a very strange way that no one had expected or understood. He was oddly attached to Kael'thas' son. People whispered that Kael'thas and Illidan looked like a couple. Kael'thas likewise whispered about that a great many smart-alecky disloyal people at his son's holiday party were going to be hanged for treason.

Other Ogre, Naga, Broken, and Blood Elf couples chatted over egg nog and hot cider while their monster children played with jingling bells, ate candy and cake, and fought over whose mom or dad was meaner. When Belorim couldn't win an argument with Wave Commander Scyth'lerin's daughter that her Queen was smarter than Kael'thas for having put the collar around his neck, Belorim yelled that Naga were stinky, ugly, stupid fish faces.

Everyone waited quietly for Kael'thas to admonish his son. He didn't.

Thirteen Bloodknights including Lady Liadrin milled about in their dark plate armor with red and green holiday hats on of course, so that the kids wouldn't be too afraid of them. They were armed and vigilant bodyguards to everyone for the evening.

After the treats, the costume party, a round of pin-the-tail-on-the-host that Kael'thas was annoyed to be forced into by Illidan—and Kael'thas told the children later that Illidan was a piñata who would give them candy if they were willing to beat him with sticks, their parents wouldn't let them upset their Demon Lord and master though—the kids started begging to see Greatfather Winter. Between that and Illidan ruining his party, Kael'thas got into a dark mood. If Daphne and Tempest—he didn't count Mavia—did not arrive with some Dwarf lookalike and presents soon, the whole thing was going to go very south very fast…

"Looky looky who's here!" Daphne cheered, pulling Greatfather Winter into the room at the thirteenth hour it seemed.

Maybe to all the kids it looked like they were his happy helping elves, but Tempest and Mavia held both ends of his chain manacles. They walked strategically, keeping the old Dwarf's back to the wall while they made their way to the filched chair, tree, and presents set up at Kael'thas' party. While Pyorin, Sunthraze, and Fennore had helped move setup into the Foyer hours earlier, Greatfather Winter had needed a great deal of 'convincing' to go through with it. The ladies should have had all the leftover Army of Light presents in tow, but the dark triumphant smirk and burnt edge of the Dwarf's white beard seemed to suggest that Greatfather Winter had somehow fought with the ladies and destroyed the gifts, rather than give them to undeserving people.

"Daddy, daddy you did it! He came!" Belorim hugged his father's legs and then ran over, sticky fingered and screaming with the other children.

Lady Liadrin wore her armor as usual, but had sneaked on some holly-shaped earrings. "Oh, Kael'thas, you did wonderfully. Congratulations." She gave him a loving pat on the shoulder. "Though, I'm sorry my Bloodknights have ruined it. Ugh, I did not condone Tempest and Daphne wearing that… and I have a feeling that Mavia's association with our Fennore is a large part of the problem… And why is all this mistletoe everywhere!" Liadrin saw one over their heads and angrily snatched it down from the glass edge of the Core just above their heads.

The brooding host of the party wasn't paying attention though.

"Kael'thas?"

"Yeah… You know what, this is my party. I'll take that and put it away someplace, where the children can't get to it. You go and enjoy yourself."

But when her back was turned, Kael'thas strode over to Greatfather Winter and the girls with a new purpose. He began to smile deviously. Across the room, Fennore, Pyorin, and Sunthraze saw it too.

Sunthraze grinned at Tempest. "Once again, I feel like I need a cold shower before this is over..."

Fennore leaned in too. "For the dirty feeling of seeing something so nice at a kiddie party or… the other dirty feeling?"

Sunthraze declined to ask what other dirty feeling Fennore could possibly be talking about.

Pyorin grabbed Sunthraze by the shoulder all of a sudden. "The hell is he doing with our girls—"

"Happy Winter's Veil ladies." Back across the Foyer, Kael'thas halfway announced himself and held the mistletoe overhead. Next, he swiftly stole a kiss from Daphne.

She'd dutifully offered her cheek at first, but Kael'thas aimed too well.

"… and to Tempest." Kael'thas kissed her on the lips too.

"And I wouldn't dare leave out Mavia."

From where he was, Fennore got murder in his eyes. "SONOFABITCH!"

Pyorin cracked his knuckles. "Kael'thas isn't pathetic… He made us all think he was some charity case. That scheming, cheating—"

"…wife-stealing prick." General Blaize came over with Lady Liadrin then and sounded more than a little regretful, looking at the beautiful young women he couldn't have. It seemed his holiday without a certain pretty naïve once Bloodknight was starting to take its toll on him. Blaize stuffed a hand into a pocket of his black slacks and with the other nursed some eggnog, his drunken gaze gone unfocused. "Welcome to my world."

Even if they'd wanted to intervene, and Liadrin had barred her male Bloodknights from making another scene, they wouldn't have been able to get there before Kael'thas finished flirting with the women. The wily Sunstrider Prince had summoned that sinister courage from somewhere, and also like instinct, knew how to finish taking his holiday liberties with time enough left over to sneak a feel from poor unsuspecting Daphne. With that swiftly done, Kael'thas and moved off to put up the mistletoe in mere moments.

Greatfather Winter sat down once more in his filched chair and the parents helped their children to line up to receive presents.

Kael'thas took Belorim by the hand and announced that his son, the Young Prince of Quel'thalas had been a very good boy. He was going to go first.

"I'm not giving any of these little freaks anything, Kael'thas." Greatfather Winter whispered harshly.

"Yes, I can tell you prevented that." He growled back. "You'd better give them something then, at least lend an ear to their wishes and promise to grant them later."

"I won't be doing that either—"

"Do you think I care whether you follow up on it or not? Just keep from looking like good kindling to me and you'll get through it just fine." And he set Belorim in the old Dwarf's lap.

Greatfather Winter started off with a frown but Belorim smiled through fingers he'd stuck in his mouth. With his wide blue eyes and the wilting cat ears… the boy was just too cute to be so mean to.

The old seasonal instinct kicked in. "So then, Prince Belorim Sunstrider… what is it that you most want for this holiday season. If you've been good, I'll arrange for it."

"I want a—" then Belorim hesitated. "I only get one, don't I?" he frowned.

Greatfather Winter found an empathetic wince on his face too.

"Well, den I have one wish cause I want to be good, okay? Can you pweese… bring back mommy? We want to go home."

The old Dwarf smirked up at Kael'thas. The Prince had crossed his arms, he dared him.

"Do you know why you are not in Silvermoon City and a real Prince now at that, not just some fabrication of your father's to make himself look good in front of all these brainwashed Sunfury soldiers? It's because he's selfish and cruel. He doesn't want to go home and retake the throne anymore than he respected your mother when she was alive. And bless her soul, Saturna's pleas for your father to come to account fell on arrogant, deaf ears! So if you want to go home so very badly, Belorim, I suggest you tell your father to change his evil ways. I can't do a thing for you in that department, son."

Belorim tried to be brave, but just couldn't. He cried.

Greatfather Winter looked up to see Kael'thas wanting to kill him. The old Dwarf thought to get up, his point about rewarding naughty children made, but Illidan was on the other side, arms crossed over a wide violet chest and fel runes searing green-hot. The Demon Lord reached down and freed the distraught Belorim from Greatfather Winter.

Kael'thas started first, "I'll rip the beard out of your face with my bare hands and set every single digit of your body on fire—"

"…And rip you open, for my felhounds to feast on your hot innards…"

"And when Mrs. Greatfather Winter finally sees you after this holiday is over she'll be very unhappy to find that her husband is one burnt digit short…"

"…a couple of senses. You see, I am going to tear your ears off first with my teeth, and then work my way down…"

"…and Conjure a phoenix into your colon if you ever dare—"

"…TALK LIKE THAT TO MY SON AGAIN!"

Kael'thas sneered at Illidan.

"I mean, _his_ son again!"

Kael'thas reached over the now pale Greatfather Winter and took Belorim from Illidan's arms.

"Come on now Kael'thas, it was an honest mistake!" But he'd started walking away. "And it's Winter's Veil… You never even let me hold him!"

"Why are you even here, Illidan? I didn't invite you! We had an agreement, Belorim is supposed to live here with me which means _I_ get him for the holidays—"

"Oh come on, Kael'thas! You act like you don't even know what this is. I did enslave you after all, but you like to pretend we were never even close. And it's not like anyone here could be expected to side with me… with you making me out to be the bad guy. How can they even tell, the way you cover up that nice collar I gave you, to save your soul…"

"Trust me Illidan, if I could go back in time and never be Soul-Linked to you, I'd sure as hell do it!"

Across the Foyer, Sunthraze gasped at Kael'thas in his fake Illidan horns and Illidan in his real horns arguing over Belorim. "Good gods! Am I the only one… who sees what's wrong with that picture?"

Fennore, Pyorin, Blaize, and even Lady Liadrin nodded, truly disquieted. Everyone else had fallen into disturbed silence as well.

"I… I'm not even going to make a joke about that. Something is very wrong with those two. It's _sick_!"

Daphne saved the party from that horrific scene between warlock slave and master. "Everyone! Time to hug Greatfather Winter again!" The bad kiddies screamed and ran for him a second time.

_Later…_

Grumbling, the old bruised Dwarf hoisted himself up out of the chair when Mavia yanked on his chain and went around with a sackful of toys for the adults.

Sunthraze was first. Greatfather Winter interrupted his conversation with Tempest to hand him a stocking.

"It's in there." He grunted.

Sunthraze reached in and brought out a roll of Goblin duct tape. "Excuse me? I don't get what this is supposed to be, wise guy."

Before he moved on, the Dwarf said, "Did you really think I'd give the good presents to you all? After you stole them from the more than deserving soldiers of the Army of Light? If I am being forced to give you _something_because of your Prince, You be happy with what you get, and be downright overjoyed if it ain't coal."

Tempest grinned evilly. "It's for your mouth, Shortstuff." And took the red and white stocking Greatfather Winter handed her next. She brought out something that looked like an old spray can. "What's this scrawled on here… 'Slut-B-Gone?' Oh, you're dead, you fat assed—" Sunthraze tore a swatch of silver duct tape from the roll with his teeth and put it over Tempest's mouth.

"Not in front of the kiddies, my gargantuan girlfriend." Tempest sounded like she was trying to assert that she wasn't Sunthraze's girlfriend but he got her in a bear hug that pinned her arms downs and duct taped her wrists while he was at it. "Oh, this is the best gift ever! I'd do your ankles too, Lucia, but then we couldn't have the sort of fun I really want to have with you forced to obey… Aw hell, I'm going for it." Then Sunthraze hoisted Tempest up over his shoulder, slapped her mostly exposed bottom underneath the miniskirt and waved a loud, drunken goodbye to everyone at the party. Many of the parents covered the eyes of their children and did their best to ignore the lewd departure, Tempest bound, squealing, and kicking helplessly the whole way.

Over near Blaize, Greatfather Winter crooked a finger for Lady Liadrin to bend down because he wanted to whisper something, then reached around and pulled the tie and pins from her tightly wound hairdo. These he handed to Blaize.

"And just what kind of game is this, you simpleton?"

"My dear, your hair has been let down. It's not such bad advice, if you ask me." Blaize smirked.

"Now, General Nathaniel Blaize, do you see where my hand is, about this tall near your ankle? That is about a notch, I'd say."

"So—"

The old Dwarf swept a foot out and took Blaize's feet out from under him. He fell flat on his back and was dazed for a bit, seeing nothing but red and green giggling phoenixes miles overhead in the Core.

A fat-faced Dwarf leaned over him and frowned. "I just took you down about a notch. And I don't see your employer or girlfriend coming to your defense so I think that, for once, you have to agree with someone that you deserved it."

Lady Liadrin tried very hard not to laugh, and waited a little longer to help her date up than she should have. Blaize flushed red and swore while the other Bloodknights completely gave in and laughed outrageously.

Illidan growled so nastily at Greatfather Winter that he didn't stop by him. "Well, I'll just hand your present to Kael'thas. You both share so much already, I don't see why I should have to make two stops… _you twisted freak of nature_… Hallo there Daphne."

Daphne was about as excited to see Greatfather Winter as the children had been and it showed.

"You know, young lady, you were on my 'good' list until very very recently. I'm disappointed in you."

"Oh? Well…" she looked pretty sad about this.

The Dwarf seemed to feel a little sore about having to chastise her. "Well… I think I can still find something special for you." But he gave it to Pyorin.

"Huh? Am I supposed to… open this?"

The Dwarf raised a bushy white eyebrow. "Not until you're sure you're going to need it. Now, don't go losing it either. I am a powerful, immortal man. I can peer into the seasons to come, I know the magic of all ages intimately. That little device hasn't been invented yet." He explained while Pyorin turned the little black square package over and over again in his hands. There was something round and rubbery inside but he was afraid to bend it too much and risk opening it the way Greatfather Winter warned him not to. "And um… when you get it out of there and get a good look at it, where it goes should be more than obvious. Hell, here's the whole box. Why should I be stingy and embarrass myself when instructions are on the back."

When Pyorin figured out what it was, he hid the thing from Daphne who had been trying to understand the pictures. "Wait a second, is that a picture of a man's—"

"Thank you, Greatfather Winter!" Pyorin beamed. Then with as straight a face as possible, "Ahem. So Daphne, if you're still curious what it is, I'd be happy to demonstrate for you if you'll come back to my room…"

"But I don't want to miss the party—"

Pyorin kissed her hand and walked her away. "My dear, the party is really just getting started. Trust me."

The Dwarf went to Fennore next. He took one look at the Bloodknight who could only grin at the Demon woman overhead, sighed, and linked their hands together. "You two deserve each other, it's really a gift to the rest of us if you both stay unavailable."

Fennore was overjoyed and hugged Mavia. "You see? We always belonged together."

"A word of advice though, and I never thought I'd say this to anyone but… Please, _please_ listen to Kael'thas where this warlock stuff is concerned. He really is trying to help you… _keep you_ from hurting yourself. And you're prone."

They wondered how he knew…

At last were Kael'thas and Belorim. Kael'thas had taken Belorim away to a quiet corner while the little boy cried. He bounced his son up and down in his arms and whispered to him, trying to cheer the child up.

Greatfather Winter handed a stocking up to the Belorim. Kael'thas took it for himself and set Belorim down.

"Give this to him, or I'll kill you where you stand." Kael'thas whispered and he looked mad enough to do it.

Greatfather Winter scowled but then took the little box and regifted it to Belorim.

The little boy unwrapped it quickly—his father had to help—and then opened it.

"Ooooh…" Belorim watched the tiniest little blue phoenix, it could have easily been mere candle-flame, float up out of the box and sing to him. It sang his name in its cheerful tinny voice and spelled it out, Belorim still didn't know how to spell yet, but at this rate he was going to learn quickly. He tried to sing along.

"Daddy! Look, it's so cool!"

"Yes, I… that is, Greatfather Winter and I were talking about how much you wanted a pet. Well, this is a special kind of phoenix made from pure, concentrated arcane energy. Remember when I explained that normally phoenixes can't last forever? Well, if you put this one to bed at night," and he took it into his palm and covered the little blue bird with the other hand, "He can go to sleep and rest." Kael'thas opened his hands little so that Belorim could see. The bird turned into a little crystal statue in the dark. "And when dawn comes again, he wakes back up. So, as long as you take care of it," Kael'thas released the bird to the light once more. It became pure energy again, soared and somersaulted. "You can keep him forever. How do you like that?"

Belorim loved it. He ran and hugged Greatfather Winter while jealous Kael'thas scowled dark enough to turn the old Dwarf into some kind of frozen arcane crystal.

"Thank you! I knew I was a good boy, I knew it! Thank you!"

"Yes, what he said earlier was only a mistake." Kael'thas put in. "This old Dwarf is drunk, of course, as all Dwarves always are, and said something stupid, out of habit. And Humans and Draenei and Gnomes all have the same problem, by the way." Kael'thas almost spat it out, "Dirty Alliance."

Greatfather Winter stopped being impressed with Kael'thas' clever gift right then. "Well, you have your gift already." He nodded at the red stocking in Kael'thas' hand. "Are you quite done with me, Prince of Quel'thalas?"

Daphne rounded up the kids for a sleigh ride. The entire upper level had been covered over with snow that either the Sunfury mages conjured or that the rogues had stolen in the form of Goblin winter machines from Area 52. The parents made a fuss about their children needing to have on their scarves and gloves, or else they'd catch cold. Though it was more to make them even more excited.

The little phoenix was soulbound to Belorim and so it happily flitted away and followed him everywhere. It was impossible for him to lose it.

When Belorim was gone, Kael'thas said, "Completely through. Don't worry, I won't be inviting you or your strange magic tricks anywhere near me or my son ever again. I'll have my Bloodknights escort you to the nearest vestige of civilization… that is, if they don't take liberties and kill you first."

"No need." The old Dwarf yanked the fel iron chains off his hands like it was nothing. Kael'thas tried not to look too surprised. "You know, some good came of this. The Prince of Quel'thalas did need to see me. He's been trying very desperately to be happy, to make Winter's Veil when he didn't need to in the first place."

"I have a full life, even it is a hard one. I'm not making a holiday, I have real people I love that I intend to share this time with all along. I didn't need you, Greatfather Winter, or whomever you are to do it… if it wasn't going to be a party, then it would have been something else, you know. Besides, it was Belorim who needed you, because he's at a tender age—"

"I would think that a Bloodmage would fully believe in magic, whether it's fire or nether magic, or the magic of the season, of coming together. Maybe you won't admit that you wanted validation too, after Belorim brought it up, but I know you Kael'thas. And it's interesting, actually. You and your son want the exact same thing for Winter's Veil. I am going to cheat and tell you now that absolutely everything you want, you can have. It's all right in front of you, but you're allowing your anger and your pain distract you."

"I learned that lesson already—"

"Are you happy? I mean, truly content."

Kael'thas couldn't answer that question.

"Then you have not learned. We can't control what life gives to us, only how we receive it. I can see that you are trying very hard to improve, but you have not changed, Kael'thas. Trying and doing not the same thing. You must pick a side, you must make a stand… but you've heard all this before from your fiancée."

"Please, don't talk to me about Saturna. I wish to respect her memory."

"Memory? Ha! Well, it's your life, see what you want to see." He pointed at the red stocking. "The same works for your present."

"Oh, don't try and be clever, I already know what's in here, I'm not even going to open it."

"Do you really think I would rest the fate of Outland on something so trivial, just to make you mad and prove a point? No, I want you to learn a lesson. When you look in there, you will see what you really believe about yourself. Self-actualization, that is the first step to improvement, if you want to be scientific about your redemption, Kael'thas. Before you fix yourself you must accept that there is something to fix, no? Well, you have to believe it, I can't tell you. So I hope you do look into that stocking, Kael'thas. You might be surprised. And there is hope in surprises."

Then Greatfather Winter smiled at him, honestly, and simply faded from view.

Kael'thas instantly worried that the man was a rogue and assassin, wandered around startled for a bit. But the old Dwarf was really gone. And when he left, the air smelled like pine and crushed snow and… hope. Kael'thas wasn't sure how he knew that hope had a scent… but being a junky, he could confirm at the least that he wasn't high and so it was really happening.

Kael'thas walked back to the party. Mostly only the adults were left. Everyone wanted to know what Greatfather Winter left in the Prince's stocking.

Did he dare?

Kael'thas smiled, he couldn't help it. It really had been Greatfather Winter, he was sure of that now. The boy inside of him cheered, wanted to play at last…

Kael'thas couldn't find it at first, though he searched around inside the stocking for a while. But when he pulled his hand out, confused, it was stained black with soot.

"It's coal!" General Blaize, completely drunk by now, bent over and laughed out loud. Everyone was already in a jolly mood and it was easy to join him.

But to Kael'thas, let down as he was, it really did feel like they were laughing at his expense. Illidan had come over and Kael'thas passed the embarrassing gift off to him. Illidan reached into the stocking next and pulled out a flawless Azerothian diamond.

Kael'thas was disgusted. While everyone oohed and aaahed over the hideous conceit of a full Demon Lord incapable of humility or fear, Kael'thas left.

"Can you watch Belorim for me?" He started to say to Lady Liadrin.

"No."

Kael'thas flinched. The Bloodknight Matriarch was disobeying a direct order? For the first time, he considered chastising the woman who'd been his father's confessor. But that seemed… odd.

"Kael'thas, whether your son's part has been ruined by Illidan, or your feelings have been hurt by this Greatfather Winter person or not, you have a responsibility to your son. This is his day, his life. And in so many ways… it isn't your life anymore. Do you understand me? How will Belorim feel if you just leave him?"

"Yeah, I wash about to say the same damned thing, same damned thing to you Kael'thash. The shon of Saturna Whiteblade deserves better." Blaize was leaning on Liadrin a little. She gave him a look and the General realized he'd gone too far, sauntered off.

"The minute you take your eyes off of him he's going to be chatting up some other woman—"

"Don't you dare change the subject on me. Also, as much as I hate to say it in this situation, Kael'thas… Blaize is right."

"I don't care what Blaize is! Greatfather Winter, the _real_ Greatfather Winter gave me coal for Winter's Veil. Ugh. I guess because I'm such a Greench, and stole the tree and presents and even the man himself from Shatthrath City. Like the Shatar even miss it. They've got their self-righteousness to blind them from what was lost, and there's enough hot air among the Aldor and the Scryers—especially the Scryers—to keep every man woman and child there warm for about… a hundred years!" Then again, Greatfather Winter had smiled as he'd done it, told him there was hope in the lesson. Couldn't he just… take it to mean he was aware that he needed to improve himself, that there was hope for his future? Whereas, Illidan with the perfect diamond was incapable of seeing or mending his fatal flaws?

"Kael'thas, we can't possibly hope to know what that street performer Daphne and Tempest found. He was clearly crazy… frighteningly accurate in his gift-giving though, but still obviously a lunatic."

There was no thinking it through, unhappening it. It was up to Kael'thas to believe what he wanted about the strange old Dwarf, and his message.

Up on the next level, and Kael'thas could see this through the wall of the glass Core that the children were getting into the fancy red sleigh for their ride through the snow. There were some red-nosed reindeer pulling the cart and failing. From the sort of fussy response coming from the animals, Kael'thas guessed they were just army Hawkstrider mounts forced to eat preserved holly for the event.

During the lull in progress, the children had started to argue about whose parents were meanest again. This time, Belorim was struggling to defend himself about the incident regarding his mother. The naughty children teased him, told him that he was never going to get his mother back. Through their parents, the little boys and girls knew about what happened to Saturna Whiteblade… and kids could be so very mean.

"Alright, everybody shut up!" Kael'thas had blinked directly in front of the stuck sled. Little gasps rose up all around, but Scy'thlerin's scaley green daughter was insistent. "Especially _you_. Lady Vashj is not your mother. She's not anyone's mother because she's too worried about her looks to ever have children. So you can't claim her as your parent, or Queen, or whatever. That's not fair. And I know for a fact that a certain witch harpy queen's Wave Commander ain't a sight for sore eyes either. I've never seen an uglier, stinky fish-faced Naga man in my whole life."

Scy'thlerin's daughter shrank away from the edge of the sleigh. Belorim pushed past her to the front and smiled.

"And you, fat Ogre boy. You'd better not go falling onto my Belorim." Kael'thas unfastened the reigns from the Hawkstriders turned reindeer, shooed the animals away and took the leather straps in one hand. "If my son gets crushed, that's tantamount to regicide and I'll have to hang you." The Ogre boy laughed and the other naughty children started to laugh too. Kael'thas made a funny face at them, which they loved, and then went back to playing mean. "Yeah that's it, sit way in the back next to fish-face girl and the other big kids. Okay, and the other little shrimps come up front with my son too, that's safer. No, don't sit too far back, and hold on, alright. Every one of you horrible little monsters ready?"

They screamed and cheered that they were. Kael'thas smiled too and began to pull them along. It was really easy. They were little and he still had a good amount of Illidan's Demon's strength within him, from a time when Kael'thas was addicted to the Demon Lord's magic and did not know of any other way to survive the pain of losing Quel'thalas, or his Father, or his people. But then Illidan had taken Saturna away…

No. He would not dwell on that now. Kael'thas made himself sing:

_Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…_

The kids giggled at his awful voice but started to hop up and down and sing too,

_Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleeeeigh!_

_Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, _

_Oh what fun it is to ride…_

"With such ugly monsters all the way!"

They laughed at Kael'thas changing it.

_Dashing through the snow, on a one horse open sleigh, _

"Through Tempest Keep we go, laughing at Illidan all the way, HA! HA! HA!"

_Bells on bobtails ring, making spirits light,_

"What fun it is to laugh and sing this slaying song toniiight! Ohhhh…" And Kael'thas turned, dragged a finger across his neck as if he were killing someone. The kids screamed and squealed and pretended to wave swords and cast spells through the air at him. He roared like some dying, slain beast and fell over.

They cheered and hopped onto Kael'thas in the fake snow, threw snowballs at him while he struggled onward. Kael'thas let the children climb on him, pull the fake Demon horns off, hop onto his back.

He laughed so hard that he couldn't catch his breath after a while. But when his own voice faded, Kael'thas recognized the voices of cheerful phoenixes soaring in the Core just through the glass wall. His creations, they celebrated with him in enchanting echoes of his own voice, teased and danced with the children too.

Then Kael'thas closed his eyes and listened within. It had always been there, and he nearly missed it now.

A woman laughing. The voice was so familiar, and delighted.

"Happy Winter's Veil Daddy!" Belorim hugged Kael'thas and he opened his eyes once more.

Kael'thas wasn't sure how to explain it, but somehow he knew… where ever she was, Saturna had just wished him the same.

"So, did you like the party I threw for you—"

"Okay, we tricked him and got presents. Now we can be bad again!"

The last thing Kael'thas saw was the white snowball coming at his face. Belorim had such a cute, little evil laugh.

"That's my boy…" his father coughed, then spat out icy snow.

_Alright now, Bim Bim sweetheart. Give him another one for mommy…_

"Ow! Would you stop doin' that? Geez… that one had a rock in it. Where'd you even get a rock from? And who taught you how to make such good snowballs!"

"It was coal from your stocking, Daddy. Hehe!"

Author's note:

A very heartfelt Happy Holidays to all my readers. May you also feel warm and loved… despite any potential snowballs to the face.


	14. A warlock betrays the Nexus

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Thirteen: A warlock betrays the Nexus **

The day after the holiday party, it became more than apparent to Sunthraze that he'd lost Pyorin's bet. Fennore and Mavia, for some unholy reason none of them could fathom, were now a couple. Scowling darkly, the redhead slapped a few gold coins in Pyorin's waiting hand. Daphne was also there in Pyorin's room, hanging out. She blushed when Sunthraze asked about her Winter's Veil gift earlier, while Pyorin smirked proudly. Something about her not being ready for it, and then a hasty apology to Pyorin for 'running off like that', whatever that meant. The Tank just grinned and told Daphne she would always be welcome to another 'demonstration' when she was ready. And one day, he insisted, she would be, even if he had to help her get in the right mood. Pyorin was teasing her somehow, and Daphne was more than embarrassed, annoyed with him even. Sunthraze decided that he did not want to know what Greatfather Winter gave either of those two weirdos... Well, Daphne was a hot weirdo, but still.

All in all, whatever happened between them on Winter's Veil, Pyorin and Daphne were closer for it. She sat on the bed across from him, playing chess. Sunthraze swore and paced, glanced now and again at the black and white board between the tank and the healer.

"Check." Daphne said.

Pyorin stopped laughing at Sunthraze momentarily to keep up with the game. "Well I'll be… looks like you're beating me again, Daphs."

"Mister Tank," she waggled a finger, "I'm starting to think that this isn't a friendly match at all. Maybe you are trying to lose."

"I sleep with Tempest three times now, three! And she _still_ won't give me the time of day! And this punk Fennore goes and snags Mavia in a relationship."

"Well, it's gotta' be dysfunctional. Don't take it so hard." Pyorin shrugged and moved one of the black pieces deep into enemy territory on Daphne's side of the board. She raised an eyebrow at him, but Pyorin kept a straight face.

Sunthraze pulled a chair over, turned it backwards and sat in it. He'd just showered and his hair was still wet. Pyorin never did get up and fetch Sunthraze the extra shaving razor he'd come over to borrow.

Sunthraze started up again, "This is rich, it really is… Pyorin don't move there, you're going to lose your queen."

"Am I?"

"Again, check! Pyorin, don't go easy on me. I'm really good at this game and I want a challenge. You promised me that you were an expert at chess."

Sunthraze shook his head. "How come Demon-lover is getting far with a woman that's a Demon and not _even_ really a woman! And I can't even get the most available Blood Elf woman in this place to take me seriously."

"Sunthraze, don't come crying to me about Tempest. I warned you."

Daphne said, "Yeah, and I've known Tempest for a while too. Even back when she was my superior officer in the army, she's never settled down. I wouldn't take it personally." Daphne crooked a pensive finger over her lips as she spoke, eyes fixed on the black and white board.

"That's not true, she's dated Pyorin."

"Oh? Well, sorry, I'd forgotten about that. It all happened before I conscripted. Okay then, ever since Pyorin, Tempest hasn't seriously dated anyone."

Sunthraze grimaced at Pyorin.

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't even like her… And how was I supposed to figure that out until I slept with her a few times…" Pyorin didn't finish what he was going to say, but it didn't matter. Daphne wasn't paying attention.

"Mate in four moves." She announced.

Sunthraze sighed at Pyorin and rolled his eyes. "Well… it's just sex right, like you said? Ugh, I can't believe I'm even talking about the two of them like that."

"Fennore went into his room at around nine o'clock this morning, just like the other day. It is now eleven thirty…" Pyorin started to say, and Sunthraze went and peered down the hallway to confirm.

"Yep, that door is still closed."

"Told ya. We won't see him until the last call at dinner late this evening, like before…"

Daphne moved her white horse-headed knight piece near to Pyorin's king. The threatening jump over his last row of defensive pawns did not have the effect it should have on Pyorin. The tank smiled.

Daphne leaned chin in palm expectantly and doubted, "Twelve hours of sex? Is that even mortally possible?"

Sunthraze sat back down. "She's a succubus, and not just any Demon, one of Lord Illidan's most greatly feared officers at that. Fennore is the most powerful Bloodknight healer in existence. You do the math."

"From what I can tell Daphs, an Illidari Maneater is a lot like the petty officers we used to have in the Ranger Corps. Remember the ones that would get in your face and yell at you to do more push-ups, make you want to go home and cry to your mother? Well, Mavia is really good at making big bad Demons wish they were never born, so that Lord Illidan doesn't have to waste time disciplining them."

"So that's what Mavia is really like? Oh my goodness… I can't believe I ever wanted to date Fennore." Daphne frowned, slid her bishop in fast from the other side of the board. Pyorin kept nudging his king piece closer into her trap.

"You what?" Pyorin sat up all of a sudden. He uncrossed his legs on the bed. "You never told me that?"

"She's not your girlfriend, meathead, why in the hell would she?"

Daphne smiled pleasantly, seemingly oblivious to the guys' conflict. "Sunthraze, you really do have a lot of long hair. You should wear it down more often."

"Why thank you." He grinned back. "And that reminds me, I'm sorry about all this Tempest talk. I hope you don't feel slighted?"

Daphne shrugged. "Oh, I'm used to it. Everyone likes Tempest and just looks right through me. I guess I'm just the sidekick."

Sunthraze frowned momentarily. "Oh Daphne… you're a beautiful woman, you shouldn't say that."

"Why not, it's true. Besides, it's no big deal."

Pyorin wanted to say something too, but never got it out.

"Daphne have you ever seen the northern lights here in Outland? We're at a prime spot to enjoy them, the way we're past the edge of Netherstorm, surrounded on all sides by nothing but romantic sky…"

Pyorin squinted an eye. "Wait just one second—"

"…Because I've been wanting to ask you out for a good while Daphne. I just didn't think I could find anything nice enough though."

Daphne blushed. "Oh, you don't have to do that. I know you're only interested in my roomie."

"That's not true. You're smart and sexy… I've been interested in you from the beginning, but I guess I got intimidated. I mean, here you are playing chess with Pyorin—"

"Oh! Which reminds me, checkmate."

Pyorin was looking at Sunthraze, started to crack his knuckles.

"…and Daphne, I think that looking at the stars is finally something we can do together. Brainy and tantalizing, right? Up both our alleys. What do you say? I'd be honored to have you as my date."

Daphne was not able to hide how happy this made her. "Oh… okay! Can I… what should I wear?"

Sunthraze folded his arms along the back of the chair and leaned over them. "In your case, I hope it's something short. Have I ever told you what nice legs you have?"

Daphne started giggling immediately. "Oh Sunthraze, I know why you're doing this but… I don't care. Thank you. I'll be looking forward to it. This is so sweet of you, just to make me feel better? Aww…"

"Why I'm doing it? I can genuinely like more than one woman can't I? Daphne, that's the truth. Just ask Pyorin, he knows firsthand that I was interested in both you and Tempest from the start. We three guys talked about it right before lunch that day and he even gave me the green light."

"Sunthraze, do I need to dropkick you?"

Pyorin's friend met the intimidating gaze with his own. "For what, _Commander_?"

Daphne cleared her throat and spoke up in the tense silence that followed. "That's game, Pyorin. You owe me a kiss, remember?"

Pyorin had been gesturing for her to keep quiet. Sunthraze looked away briefly, disappointed. "You jackal. Is this how low you've sunk? Tricking her into it?"

"Tricking me into what?"

Pyorin asked Sunthraze if he had watch in ten minutes, and when the redhead said he didn't, gave Sunthraze watch in ten minutes.

"Daphne, you _do_ see what Pyorin is up to, right?"

"No… what would he be up to? If I'd lost then I would have to kiss _him_… he didn't want to bet me gold, I don't have any really. It's more than fair."

Sunthraze sighed. "You are a very intelligent woman… When you eventually learn your way around men, people like Pyorin are going to be shit out of luck. And, Tankalicious? Those old tricks aren't going to work on her forever. She's just too smart for you."

"Go away, smartass. I have a woman to kiss."

"If it's so friendly then just do it in front of me—"

Sunthraze was cut off by a strange high-pitched wailing sound. Magical red lights flashed in the hallway, the doors of their neighbors opened. Sunfury soldiers in various stages of getting armed raced down the hallway to orders being shouted.

"What's all that?" Daphne asked.

Pyorin walked around the bed and helped her up. "We're under attack."

"A raid? Now?" Sunthraze wound his hair up in a ponytail quickly and said he was going to get his weapons.

"Poor Fennore! The state he must be in…" she giggled.

"Get your head in it, Daphne. This is serious. Five alarms means they are deep inside the Keep, past all our lines of defense."

She snapped to attention. "Yes, Father Tank."

Daphne had better sense than Sunthraze. She'd brought her shield and healing mace into the room when she came to hang out with Pyorin. Daphne armed herself then turned her back while waiting for Pyorin to get out of his casual clothes to suit up. He hadn't made any effort to keep from changing in front of her.

"Guess we'll have to postpone that kiss then?"

Pyorin didn't say anything for a while. But then, Daphne felt his breath on her cheek and arms slip around her waist before she could take the chance and see if he'd finished dressing or not. The alarm sounding like it was the end of the world… that added a little something too.

"Why wait?" he whispered, and turned Daphne around. Then, despite the emergency, Pyorin took his time and kissed her gently.

When he was done, Daphne looked away, shy. "I… thought it was going to be a friendly kiss?"

"Hey! They could be _killing_ Kael'thas, by the Sun, and that's what you're doing?"

Both Daphne and Pyorin startled to hear Fennore yelling at them from the hallway, through the open door. Mavia had her whip uncoiled at the ready and looked down on them as well. Sunthraze came back with Tempest and the eight other Bloodknights then and they were arguing as usual. But when Sunthraze and Tempest saw Pyorin misbehaving with Daphne they formed a unified front immediately. One was disappointed in his hypocrite, cockblocking Commander, the other was furious with her ex-boyfriend for hitting on her roommate. The shouts of soldiers and alarms going off thankfully absorbed the full heat of those two brazen redheads fighting on the same team for once.

"Alright, I'm on it." Pyorin winced, nearly ducked an imagined blow, then urged Daphne ahead of him. "Bloodknights, assemble!"

_Moments later…_

Black smoke obscured everything. The Engineering Deck of Tempest Keep really was on fire, and that seemed incredible, that sophisticated Naaru technology could be susceptible to something as simple as flame. It was a harsh reminder of where they were in Outland, and why.

Pyorin raised his shield and sparking red sword, ready to attack someone coming at them but it turned out to be a Sunfury soldier stumbling and desperate. Daphne healed the person but it did little good. She could not cleanse all the smoke from the corridor and it would soon take its toll on all of them as well.

"Pyorin!" Lady Liadrin's voice was a relief. They made their way over through distraught, panicking soldiers and smoldering metal planks in the walls and floor that had buckled under the heat and pressure. A pane of glass nearby exploded and they dove for the ground, which is where Lady Liadrin was crouched near some door.

Between the hot flare of red light and a wave of her hand that banished the fog momentarily, the Nexites saw what the problem was. She and General Blaize were pounding on the enormous doors to a locked vault of some kind, calling for Kael'thas to answer.

Between coughing, "He's in there… the alarm went off and everyone ran—"

"My men can't find him!" Blaize interrupted. "The Prince went to see to whatever experiment he keeps locked in there, with his Demon engineers… but the damned thing has got out of control. No one that I send in has come back out. I've threatened to court-marshal and execute every Sunfury coward who refused to follow one more order for their Prince. I can't stand the man either, but for that infuriating Prince of ours to die in a fire, and not as a result of one of his stupid, royal temper tantrums..." Blaize was startled to notice that he actually cared about the man, and changed his tack. "After everything the Sunfury have been through, No. Not on _my_ watch…"

Liadrin fretted at Blaize's panicked look that revealed itself then, and turned back to her Bloodknights.

"You have to go in and put that experiment thing, that monster down… It's the only way that we can confirm one way or another," she shook her head sorrowfully. "Kael'thas has been gone for too long, I'm sorry my dears. Please, and hurry! Do your best… for Belorim!"

"Kael'thas is dead?" Tempest grabbed Daphne's arm. Blaize shouted unholy oaths and the Sunfury soldiers still coherent near the door struggled to drag it back open. Within was the full fury of flame. Melted pieces of ceiling fell away when the wall trembled from thick metal lock-teeth grinding free, to grant access to whatever raged within.

A lone searing wail singed their ears as surely as could the flame. The enormous thing crouched with its head bent just at the ceiling. Fennore looked down and noticed the smoking black skid marks on the ruined floor. He could lie down in one and just barely touch the breadth of each wheel, from head to toe. The others began to understand as well. They were dealing with a machine, but 'malfunction' was hardly the word that came to mind. It was not stuck inside. It had got out and nearly destroyed the entire Engineering Deck. Liadrin and Blaize only now managed to force the thing back in.

The doors slammed shut behind them. The others barely heard Fennore utter,

"No… not his Void Reaver…"

Sunthraze was alarmed. "His what! Who's Void Reaver? Fennore, do you know what's going on here—" his outburst was cut off. A massive silver mechanical hand swept down and Sunthraze was thrown aside. There was a crash somewhere out there where he landed among the rubble and flame.

"Mavia? Mavia!" Fennore called.

"It's like a Fel Reaver!" Pyorin shouted, making up his mind for the group. Daphne, stick close and heal. I'm going to tank this thing." Tempest got her shield ready too. "Fennore, go find Kael'thas!"

"Mavia?" he kept calling her.

"FENNORE!"

But he went off into the chaos, clearly for his own reasons.

"Mavia? Where are you? Call out…" Fennore wandered, distraught, through hot charged air that seemed to wave and sizzle like a desert mirage. He kept thinking that he heard or saw Mavia but didn't. Large scraps of plaster and metallic debris weren't her running from him. These were only a larger part of a dark wind the gargantuan Void Reaver riled up, as it manipulated arcane energy in the very air itself. The nightmare machine charged up with addictive magic and blasted it in deadly waves at his friends. Yes, the others were still out there, somewhere. They needed him.

Fennore knew it was wrong to be this distracted but the thought of losing Mavia… no she wasn't just his love any more but his Demon pet. A living creature that depended on him for everything. It was his sworn duty as her master to keep her safe. She was his, she trusted him absolutely. When she had no one else, not even treacherous Illidan, Mavia was very vulnerable. No one else understood that or cared for her like he did. No one ever took him seriously…

"Fen… Fennore." It was Sunthraze. Fennore nearly walked right past his young friend. Sunthraze lay on the ground, an arm's reach away, bleeding.

Fennore didn't think twice, but healed him. "Have you seen—"

"Don't fucking ask me that!" Sunthraze yelled at Fennore as soon as soon as he was on his feet again. "We need to find Kael'thas."

"No, we don't. He isn't here… He knows better than to go down to the Engineering Deck when the Void Reaver causes a power surge. It just seems like it shorted the emergency locks on the door this time, is all."

"A what?"

"The lei line in the middle of this room that powers everything over loaded, we just need to silence it for now, cut off the Void Reaver's power source."

"You know a hell of a lot more about this Fel Reaver than you're supposed to."

"But where's Mavia? Sweetheart! Mavia…"

Sunthraze slapped Fennore with the back of his hand. "Wake up! This is the Blood Nexus. We have work to do. Forget about your Demon girlfriend. If Kael'thas isn't here, then we need to destroy this thing."

"Destroy it? No, no… far too many years of research have gone into—do you even realize what this is? The apex of Legion technology in the palm of our hands!"

"It's a damned Fel Reaver and it's killing our friends!"

Fennore ran back out into the center of the smoke-filled room, coughing now. Sunthraze followed, shoved him.

"You can't do this!"

"Here, you activate this rune while I find Mavia. It's one part of the power source—"

"I'm overloading it then, shorting the whole system out." It wasn't difficult to figure. The Naaru technology was a lot like the standard magical locks on many doors in the Keep, and Sunthraze recognized it.

"No! Kael'thas has worked too hard—"

"She's dead, alright! Mavia was caught off guard like I was but she hit the wall first. I tried to revive her but she's a Demon, Fennore. And you and I only have enough mana to save certain Nexite lives in here."

Fennore stopped everything then, watched his once mentor Sunthraze, the man who'd recruited him into the Blood Nexus with confusion, then with disgust. Finally, malice.

"You knew that I loved her, and you left her there to die?"

Sunthraze told him to shut the hell up, and help him with the rune or else be useful and heal… The other Nexites shouted the same thing into the depths of the room and it echoed. _Heal, Fennore! Heal! What are you doing, wasting time…_

"I… will… not." The ex-priest raised hands overhead, conjured. Purple magic flickered at his feet, ignited in a three-dimensional spell overhead. He released it, pointed, and yelled for it to kill Sunthraze.

Mavia the Maneater summoned, roaring, and slashed her whip directly at Sunthraze's exposed neck. She could have slashed his jugular vein wide open with the feral force she put behind the cracking whip but she didn't because Sunthraze had been watching.

On the floor, the Bloodknight glared up at Fennore through his golden shield spell, horrified. As a retribution Bloodknight he was always quick with it, when it was often all that kept him alive while he unleashed deadly power on the enemy. But the enemy was never supposed to be one of his friends, and certainly not his initiate into the Blood Nexus. Sunthraze was horrified.

"Fennore. You lying, Demon-loving bastard."

Fennore had become incensed with his other loyalty though. He made panicked gestures, wasn't able to think clearly while obedient Mavia waited with hand on her hip. Sunthraze saw that Fennore did not even fully realize what he'd just told the succubus to do, to his own friend.

Fennore finally got his bearings and ordered Mavia to help him silence the lei line next. The flow of pink energy burned, flared, expanded and sparked while they conjured together. It ignited the raging Void Reaver, consumed the staggering mechanical legs, the lifelike hands with five roving digits. The Void Reaver stood straight and spread its arms wide. It spasmed, like a real person being struck by lightning. The raging monotonal screech made everyone go down on knees and cover long sensitive ears. Then death machine stiffened, leaned over, and stuck there. Smoking, but defeated.

Pyorin called for the doors to be opened again.

"Where is he?" Lady Liadrin jogged inside the ruined chamber and begged of them. Blaize was already giving orders for his men to search piles of white stone rubble and what they could now see were burnt twisted beams of gargantuan holding mechanisms, akin to shackles, that criss-crossed useless at the center of the room. It wasn't hard to imagine that the Void Reaver animated right on the spot and yanked his arms free when this all started. Somewhere behind the deactivated silver beast was a control panel, but that was hard to confirm. The slick glass face and magical runes had melted over each other. Whatever the Void Reaver had been intended to do would be nearly impossible to investigate at this point.

"Kael'thas is fine." Fennore managed without his voice shaking very much. But he was afraid, he was passionate, angry. His green eyes flared like those of an addict. Like Kael'thas. "He isn't here."

Before Liadrin could ask what was going on, Sunthraze stepped between them. "Tell her how you know, Fennore."

It was a threat and everyone knew it. Blaize was even distracted by what he usually supposed was overblown zealous Bloodknight banter.

"Tell her what you told me, Fennore, that Kael'thas built a Fel Reaver with the help of Demons, Burning Legion engineers, in fact."

"That's none of our business!" Fennore objected loyally.

"Oh no? Well then your summoning Mavia, ordering her to kill me and cover up the Prince's secret, that most certainly is!"

Liadrin raised a silver gauntleted hand for silence when all her Nexites started arguing at once. Pyorin and the others felt Sunthraze was being too hard on Fennore, no way was the healer smart or skilled enough to do something like that with Mavia. And wasn't Sunthraze a little too biased against Kael'thas to jump to such specific and damning conclusions all of a sudden?

"Meeting in my office. Now."

_Later…_

The argument over whether or not Fennore was capable of summoning Mavia had dwindled to offensive talk about his Demon fetish in general. Liadrin was alarmed to observe that Fennore attacked his comrades back, threatened them for teasing him. When they equally threatened him back, Fennore nearly became violent, and she had to put the other Nexites out of the room. They had been defending themselves to preserve their values and their lives. Fennore was clearly baiting and agitating his friends because he wanted an opportunity to spite their values and endanger their lives. Liadrin then questioned Fennore, especially Mavia together with no helpful results. Finally, she put Mavia out to heated objection. But after an hour or so of the experienced Matriarch stolidly withstanding every oath and flare temper, Fennore calmed back down. For some reason, separating Fennore from the Demon woman's influence for an extended period of time helped him to recover like nothing else. It was like watching someone sober up…

Now, the Bloodknight Matriarch stood and leaned over the long meeting table. Fennore sat upright, weary dark-ringed eyes staring dead back at her. Both of his hands were balled into fists on the table. He kept flexing them to see the whites of his knuckles, no the veins. Flushed red… had they gone black? But Liadrin blinked and that was gone.

"Brother Immortal."

No response.

"Fennore. Did you, or did you not summon Mavia the Maneater?"

He rocked back and forth, seething.

"If you don't answer me—"

"No. That's impossible."

"Did you tell her to attack a fellow Nexite?"

"…No."

"You are lying to me."

"How can you possibly know that? Do you still make use of Mind Vision spells, ex-priestess?"

"No, of course not. I am trained as a Bloodknight now, I've rejected the old ways."

"I am the same."

She sighed and bowed her head. "I am glad that Sunthraze is only jealous, saying whatever it is that he thinks will get you in trouble, for choosing Mavia over him, when both of them were hurt. As your mentor that has got to feel like an incredible rejection, you do realize this don't you Fennore? And not to mention that you disobeyed a direct order from Father Tank, your Commander."

"I did what I felt was right. No one here cares or understands what I think, that's why they're against me. Are you against me now too?"

Liadrin resisted his manipulating her, was very unhappy to see it. "And about the Void Reaver? We only know what it was because you told us. Did Kael'thas confide in you, about any dealings with the Burning Legion?"

"No. He just told me the name of the machine, and I figured out how to stop it, just in time. According to my training as a Bloodknight healer I have to think quickly in emergencies--"

"She'd died you know." Liadrin interrupted, attempting to throw off his too-perfect response. "Mavia admitted to that and Sunthraze confirmed it. How then, did you manage to bring her back so quickly Fennore, if what you say is true?"

"I resurrected her. I did not—could not—summon her. And… I am deeply offended that no one here believes I could inspire true love from a woman—"

"She is a Demon woman, though."

"Mavia is _my_ woman! She belongs to me! She loves only me! Not you, not Illidan, nor anyone else is ever going to take her away, do you hear me? NEVER!"

Both Bloodknights stood now, faced off.

"What makes you think… that I am going to let you talk to the master of your order like that?"

Fennore realized, too late, his mistake.

"One last question, Fennore the Immortal. Whom do you serve? Kael'thas? Or… the Nexus? Or perhaps… the Burning Legion?"

It hurt to go against him, the coven master. There had been no ceremony but there was certainly a bond in word, in deed. Fennore sensed it thick in his blood, gone black with the influence of Demon magic. The drive to be loyal wasn't just a physical urge. It stirred his very soul, like with Mavia. Somewhere, where he had pledged his undying loyalty to Kael'thas as a Bloodknight, a far more painful bond had manifested.

"I serve… only myself."

"That was not easy for you to admit to, Nexite, that you acted selfishly today. Do you know that you could have got the entire order killed? That through your fixation on this woman, we could have lost everything that the late Mother Whiteblade and I worked for? And I already warned you that there will be no creative Arthas-style being a Bloodknight in the Nexus. If it is ever confirmed that you have crossed that line…"

Fennore heard her words but could not listen. All that came to him now, whether he willed it to or not, was that the Master was furious with him. For, he had broken every rule.

_Come here, Fennore. Your Master is hungry for your treacherous black blood. How dare you spill my secrets! _

Was this truly Kael'thas speaking in his mind, or just his terrified imagination playing tricks on him? Moments ago, the influence of the Demon magic was thick and vengeful, made Fennore bold enough to insult the Bloodknight Matriarch herself. Now it cowered and projected the worst of his nightmares, fears that Fennore did not even realize he had. But then again, if it really was Kael'thas, reaching out to him, so agitated…

It could only mean that Illidan knew now, as well.

_Do you know what you have done? And He his here now, my Master and yours, and hers. All of us fated to die and burn together in the Coven of Two._

Another voice overpowered that of Kael'thas in Fennore's mind. It roiled deep, growled with the fury of a savage animal. Both terrifying, but for making the pulse and the mind race to such dark places together at once, also tantalizing, tempting… sexy. Fennore feared that he understood now why Kael'thas struggled to resist Illidan's influence. Indulging in Demon magic aroused each and every sense unfairly, even against mortal limitations. It was coveted forbidden rapture. Like chasing after and winning Mavia. It wasn't just because she was a beautiful woman, Fennore saw now. Mavia made him lust after something else as well. She had all along…

Then he heard it again, almost saw it like he was there in the room with them. Illidan stood behind Kael'thas, invisible in his cloaked Demon stealth, while the Prince played innocently with his son. They did not know anything of the day's events, or how angry Illidan was with all of them. The Demon Lord flexed his black claws when he saw the boy Belorim. Illidan felt an overwhelming desire to embrace the child, to care for and protect him, or to smother him? Illidan couldn't separate the two emotions, love and violence in his mind. Fennore felt Illidan turning, looking over his shoulder, nearly seeing him back…

_Strike Two._

That resounded in Fennore's mind, even as he fled from that strange demonic consciousness. Simultaneously, Fennore realized that he should not know what it meant because only Kael'thas did. But now he also fully understood that echo from the Soul Link between Illidan and his coven Master, the threat to their Coven of Two.

There was no strike three with Illidan. They would be crushed.


	15. Strike Two with Illidan

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Fourteen: Strike Two with Illidan**

Tempest Keep was in an uproar, but Kael'thas and Belorim had no idea…

Kael'thas found that another way to get work done while Belorim was home was to set up on his red couch with all the books he needed, then sit very, very still…

"Daddy, I'm going to braid your hair. Daphne showed me."

"Mmhm. That's nice son."

It was a strange thing for Belorim to say, but Kael'thas didn't exactly hear it. When the little boy raced back into the room with a big person's comb and brush, and Kael'thas felt gentle pressure on his scalp, more like something was nesting in his hair, weaving it, knotting it, then breaking it… But the stalwart father and scholar set his jaw tight and refused to have his attention divided. He was nearly done with last week's Tempest Keep report.

"Uh oh…"

Kael'thas knew what that meant and cringed. He looked over his shoulder to see the comb, the brush, and Belorim's fingers all tangled into his hair. The three of them were stuck. Trying not to laugh too much, Kael'thas yanked the implements free. Then, he pretended that Belorim was really stuck and would never come out of his father's hair. He groaned and strained while he moved Belorim around, made funny faces.

"When you're King, you'll still have one hand stuck! They'll have to make a whole other throne for your poor, tangled up daddy."

"No, I'll make you sit on the floor!" Belorim scrunched up his face. They both laughed. At last, Kael'thas released his son. He had some nasty knots tangled up into his hair, but shrugged that it didn't matter.

"Daddy, how come there's two of us?"

Kael'thas was getting better at translating. "Two Princes of Quel'thalas, you mean? Well… I haven't decided to be King yet."

"Why?"

"Err… There's a lot of reasons—"

"So when I get big I can skip it too? I'm going to get a pet dragon and make it burn everything! It's going to be so funny…"

Kael'thas winced. Suddenly, all the warnings that his father Anasterian, Lady Liadrin, Advisor Sorn, and even the late Saturna Whiteblade had given him hit home.

"Son, maybe it's time I explained to you—"

"Can I have a pet phoenix!"

Kael'thas was secretly relieved to have the subject changed for him. "Wait, what happened to the little one I gave you?"

Belorim's sheepish look explained it all. Somehow, though the boy's Winter Veil present was practically immortal, impossible to break, kill or lose… naughty Belorim had managed to do at least one those things. Kael'thas imagined that the toy turned solid in some dark corner where Belorim forgot he dropped it, never to see the light of day again… And a real pet phoenix was certainly out of the question. Phoenixes, while pretty, and formidable monsters when you ordered them to be, always died after a few hours. Well, unless they lived in The Core… but that still meant Kael'thas would have to have a certain conversation with his son regarding death. He didn't have the heart for it.

Then, Kael'thas had an idea. "Do you know what's even better than a phoenix, Bim? And you can play with it right now."

Belorim got really excited and started hopping on the couch, crunching his father's papers in the process.

Kael'thas took Belorim by the hand and they walked to the center of the room.

"I explained to you how I am a warlock right? So sometimes I can use magic to make things happen." Belorim remembered the fire spells and the phoenixes his father conjured. "I'm going to summon something, but don't be scared, okay?"

Belorim nodded, and got very wide eyed while his father lifted hands overhead, began to conjure purple magic. A demonic rune pulsed on the carpet beneath his feet. Threads of that same energy flickered up into a three-dimensional spell, a box of purple light that drank in the shadow magic, twisted and turned…

Then Kael'thas put down his arms. A black felhound covered in spines with two delicate flower-like antennae and a gold muzzle stalked out from behind its master. The eyes were very tiny, almost hard to see because the muzzle made up most of the face. The little mouth opened when it panted and revealed rows of tiny black teeth.

Kael'thas looked down at the creature and snapped a firm order at it in Demonic. Belorim took a step back and kept his distance.

"That's just Demon language, son. It's not going to hurt you. Daddy has to speak with Korgammon that way."

"Korga… Korga…"

"You can call him Korgy." Then Kael'thas confessed in an exaggerated whisper, "When we're alone, that's what I do. And… I also taught him how to play fetch and tag." He said something else in Demonic, a wry smile on his face this time, and Korgammon wagged his tail then jumped away. He disappeared completely. A moment later, the demon dog came back with a well-worn blue rubber ball. Korgy pretended to fight with Kael'thas over it for a bit, then relinquished it to his master after a playful warning.

Kael'thas gave Korgy a rough pat behind the head, imbetween the stem-like antennae. "Come on and try it, Bim Bim. This is the best place to pat a felhound, right here." He guided his son's hand when at last Belorim was brave enough to come over.

"He's soft."

"Yes, he is… but only right there. The rest is like a porcupine. Ah, you see? You're doing it perfectly. Korgy loves it."

That wasn't immediately apparent however. Korgy was standing still, too still. Then, he started to growl at Belorim.

Kael'thas became angry in an instant and snapped another command in Demonic at him.

"Is he mean, daddy?"

Kael'thas grinned. "Oh yes, the worst." This was what Belorim wanted to hear, what impressed both Sunstriders. "But he won't hurt you. I don't care what anyone says, a firm tone of voice and well-used whip is all it takes to keep Demons in line. If you ask me, demonologist warlocks are all spineless wussies. Imagine if I'd enslaved Illidan outright, was completely dependent on his power and influence?" he complained mostly to himself. "I'd be worse off than collared right now…"

"Wussy, wussy, wussy!"

Kael'thas got a strange feeling then, even while he joined in teasing Illidan with his son. Someone was looking over his shoulder, whispering in his ear. He was very tempted to look and see who it was, but that in itself seemed silly. Kael'thas already knew who it was.

"…Fennore?"

"No, though I have a bone to pick with him as well. And I consider my enslavement more of a missed opportunity, Kael'thas. Just imagine, three years ago you could have saved yourself from all this with one selfless act."

Korgammon was growling full on now, even though Kael'thas had ordered the Demon dog not to. That could only mean one thing. Belorim got eerily quiet.

Kael'thas stood to find Illidan Stormrage towering just behind him.

"Illidan, I did not welcome you here—"

_Strike two. _Illidan said in Kael'thas' mind. That seemed to echo. The soul link with Illidan had never done that before… Fennore was involved in this too, somehow. Kael'thas tried not to think about how much trouble that asinine Bloodknight must have gotten them all into, lest Illidan overhear his feelings.

Kael'thas hated showing how he was utterly defeated in this situation, and before his son.

"Bim, everything's alright… take Korgy into my room. Play with him in there."

Belorim took the ball, and the snarling felhound that refused to turn its back on Illidan followed. Somehow, Belorim knew to lock the door as well.

_Korgy? What would my name have been if you listened to me in the first place… Illy?_

"Your very presence is a threat to my son, Illidan. Say what you came here to say, and then leave."

Illidan crossed his arms and all the taught muscles in his chest, his shoulders flexed. "You have created a Fel Reaver."

"It's called a Void Reaver. And we…" Kael'thas hated to remind Illidan of this, "already went through this three years ago. I burned the schemata, the trade records… no one here nor at the Black Temple can prove the rumors." A light laugh, a false smile, "You didn't say as much, but I took the opportunity and covered it up when you gave me the chance, Illidan. It was best for both of us."

"It is a Fel Reaver." Illidan asserted. "And don't play games, when you know how furious that betrayal made me! Now, three years later you've taken the Burning Legion schemata we found several years ago and actualized it, made that technology viable, capable of mass-murder! I told you to have your scientists study the blueprints for weaknesses against the enemy, but you've crossed the line, once again! Clearly, you've consulted Legion engineers imprisoned in the Arcatraz to accomplish this, Kael'thas. Why are you conspiring with them!"

"Building something is a very good way to study it—"

Illidan growled and pushed passed Kael'thas. "You have entrusted Burning Legion engineers with your ship's secrets, and you belong to me. Those are _my _secrets!" he yelled. "That is the only way it could have been done. And don't deny it, my spies confirmed all of it. Kael'thas, I warned you once before not to side with the enemy. I put a collar around your neck to keep you out of trouble, keep you from ruining yourself, and still you find a way!"

"This was done _before_ you and Lady Vashj betrayed me." He lied.

Illidan paced over to the couch where Kael'thas' books and papers were, some of them drawn over with red and yellow crayon. Seeing that for some reason infuriated Illidan like nothing else and he raked a claw through all of it, opened holes in the couch cushions, ripped weeks' worth of work to shreds.

"That was unnecessary—"

"YOU BETRAYED ME! AGAIN! Why is it necessary for your friend to summon himself here, to come all the way from Shadowmoon Valley to convince you _not_ to do evil works, _not_ to side with the Burning Legion…"

Meanwhile, inside of Kael'thas' bedroom, Belorim and Korgammon were playing. Belorim was a little sad to do it though. He sensed the danger and was attempting to drown out the big people's angry voices.

_Don't touch it._

"But I want to. He's cute… Korgy is so cute. And Daddy showed me how to pet him."

_Your father is an idiot, not worthy of you._

Belorim reached out his hand. Korgammon stopped playing with his blue ball on the ground, started to growl.

_Do not touch it Bim. _Saturna pleaded gently now. _Listen._

"No!" Belorim got very angry. "You're afraid of Daddy, but I'm not. That's why you're so mean to me."

_I get cross with you because you are often naughty and you don't listen. And your father is like this monster. He has spines that can poke you. Sunshine will bite you if you let your guard down. You should not get too close to him like I did Bim, you should not play with him…_

Belorim put his hand on the Demon dog's gold nose. It was so shiny. It was supposed to be soft… but it was not. It was hot like living inside the Whiteblade. Belorim was reeling from the burn of vile magic when Korgammon snarled and bit him.

_My poor baby boy. _Saturna mourned that she could do nothing in her state._ You should have minded your mother…_

"DADDY!"

Both Illidan and Kael'thas turned to the sound, but the Demon man was faster. Blinded by tears, Belorim ran into the other room and directly into Illidan's violet arms. When he realized his mistake, Belorim screamed and cried.

"Quiet now…"

_Listen to Mommy now, Bim. Do not make Illidan angry. Do as he says._

"Illidan. Give him here."

"You be quiet too, Kael'thas."

Belorim managed not to struggle. He trembled with terror unfit for someone so young, but he remained still while Illidan examined the little bruised wrist, sniffed it…

The felhound charged in then, in a flurry of savage barking.

Illidan crouched low on two cloven hooves and one black taloned claw. The other he clutched to his stomach, little Belorim in a safe if not possessive hold. The felhound and the Demon Lord faced off. Illidan flared his wings in challenge. Korgammon wanted to attack, very badly, but the other Demon, what seemed to him to be his master's other pet was far stronger.

Kael'thas, on the other side of things, saw the mad Demon man who owned his soul do battle with his pet felhound. A warlock was supposed to be in control of Demon magic, but not now…

"Illidan, please give Belorim to me."

The response was a deafening roar. Korgammon yelped and rolled over, but came back snarling, tried sneak in fast to get at Belorim. Illidan swatted at the little beast and it skittered away as fast as it could go.

Illidan hugged shivering Belorim when it was done.

"Please, Illidan, my son—"

"Shh… Daddy is here now." Illidan spoke into Belorim's little shoulder. Illidan's eyes were wide with worry. A new feeling, that instinctual paternal compassion had come over the Demon man.

…Through their Soul Link, Kael'thas supposed.

Kael'thas watched as Illidan walked over to the red glass doors, walked away, rubbing a thumb over Belorim's bruised arm. Illidan talked nervously, to himself, to the boy… but he was healing Belorim at the same time with the powerful fel magic of a full Demon Lord.

"Now I've got you. Do you see? You are safe, you are alright. Kael'thas' pets don't like me very much either, but that is not your fault." A kiss on the boy's now blanched brow, "And I love you, did you know that Belorim? I love you and I worry about you all the way over here, so far away from me, I care so much. But he will not hurt you anymore." Illidan turned his back on Kael'thas. "I won't let him."

Kael'thas feared to speak. But he sensed more acutely that if he said nothing, Illidan would walk out of those doors, with his son forever. The warlock instinct was sure of it…

"Thank you, Brother. You saved him." Kael'thas stood before Illidan again, held out his arms to receive the boy.

Illidan stroked a large hand through Belorim's hair. He held him like a baby, supporting the head. And Illidan was a little frightened. He was being very careful, doing everything in his power not to hurt the boy, to even hug him too tightly.

Illidan had a hard time admitting next, "I… please don't make me give him up again, Kael'thas. He is good to hold."

Kael'thas reached in and took Belorim away. It was not supposed to be so easy, not at all, but he'd dared and gambled right. Illidan gave in, let go, for his friend. As he knew he had to, Kael'thas stood and waited for Illidan to finish speaking with Belorim, petting him… until Belorim was overwhelmed with fear hugged around Kael'thas' bruised neck. Then Kael'thas got as far across the room, as calmly as he could go.

Illidan turned from the rejection. Kael'thas felt it sear through their Soul Link and had to shut his eyes against the tears it enforced in him.

After a time, Illidan managed, "Belorim is safe now. And I shall leave you to it, raising your son." Then, as quietly as he had come, Illidan disappeared.

"Are you alright, Bim? Did Illidan hurt you?"

_Yes, of course he did. Illidan is incapable of kindness._

"No, he didn't hurt me."

Kael'thas shifted, unsettled at the feminine presence that manifested in the room at that moment. Really, it had been days since he last had Freywinn's seeds! "I promise, I won't let Illidan get near you again, alright?"

_You can't promise him that, Kael'thas. You couldn't promise me that. Bim, you tell your father that I am going to take you away if he dares to get high around you, or let a Demon Lord—a rapist and murderer! Near MY son again. Do you hear me?_

Belorim cried. "I want to go home… leave me alone."

_I thought that I would give you a chance, Sunshine. But you don't deserve any more chances…Tell him that as well, Belorim._

There was a crash in Belorim's bedroom, the twisted yelping of an animal. Kael'thas ran to see it.

Illidan was there in the doorway. Kael'thas was unable to react fast enough, and almost bumped into the Demon man who barred entry.

"You are too kind of a warlock."

"Leave. Illidan, leave my home. Now!"

"You should have punished him. You should have enslaved me. You should have done a great many things, and so many people are suffering now because you are so selfish." Illidan regarded Belorim briefly, then pushed past. "Of course you will be compassionate and give it another chance, won't you? But regardless of your persistent weakness, Kael'thas, I have trained your dog properly… like your other bitch. It will not hurt our son again."

Kael'thas stood there, wooden, as Illidan finished his threat and walked out of the royal apartments, into Tempest Keep proper. To do what? That was anyone's guess. Then, the protective father crept into his son's dark room, and tried to see what the matter was.

Korgammon the felhound lay underneath the upturned bed in a pool of his own blood. The fat belly was rent wide open. Kael'thas covered Belorim's eyes. Clearly, the dog had been lying in wait for his son and Illidan sensed it.

_I have no sympathy for you in this sorry situation, Sunshine. You have done this to yourself against my warnings and the rest of the Nexus. Furthermore, according to your friend, I was only as good as that dog, and how do you think he will treat our son, if Illidan loses his temper with Belorim? This is becoming painful, too painful to watch…_

"She's so mean. I'm scared, Daddy." Belorim hugged his father.

Kael'thas walked away from the gruesome sight, quickly, and called for Advisor Sorn. It took a while for him to come.

"What took you so long! Illidan is loose in the ship and—"

"Kael'thas, you're alright! We thought you were… so you did not know about the Void Reaver, after all?"

Kael'thas immediately reconsidered chastising Sorn in the hallway. "Void Reaver..."

"Yes, on the Engineering Deck. It got loose and nearly destroyed all the experiments you warehouse there. Thank the Sun! We thought you were trapped inside the vault, but you were here—with your son—the entire time. Oh, thank goodness!"

Kael'thas kept his tone even, and held Belorim still closer. "There was an alarm then?"

"But you wisely chose to ignore it—"

"I never _heard_ it."

Sorn walked ahead of Kael'thas, back into the room. He examined the small red rune near the glass door frame, then rushed into the bedroom—pausing briefly to ask if the porn-trait was closed, Kael'thas swore at him over that—and then Sorn came back shaking his gray head.

"Every single magical ward in your apartments has been tampered with."

Kael'thas bit his lower lip, angry but thinking. "…How?"

_Because you would have gone off and been killed! I sensed the many people dying, I knew how bad it was. Tell him that is why we did it Belorim._

"No, I don't wanna!"

Kael'thas whispered some comfort to his son then, and started pacing.

"Completely deactivated. Kael'thas, I don't want to distress you but I can tell that this happened recently, from within your chambers. The magical signatures are fresh…"

"It was Faltheriel. Sorn, I want you to round up every single Sunfury soldier, every last scientist for immediate inspection. And I want all my Bloodknights! Now!"

"But they are detained…"

"WHY!"

"Lady Liadrin… there is a rumor going about that Fennore the Immortal summoned Lord Illidan's Demon officer and they worked together to quell the disruption on the Engineering Deck. Naturally, she wanted to question him."

Kael'thas made a fist of the shirt on his son's back, then closed his eyes. No wonder Illidan was so angry… he knew everything and it was that idiotic Fennore's fault!

"Shall I—"

"No! If they can't be trusted, then leave them be. Let the Bloodknights do what they please, I can't take that risk anymore…"

"Your Majesty! This is highly irregular—"

"Bring me a new scrying orb. There is someone I need to speak to at once." Kael'thas went with Belorim back into the master bedroom.

"She wants to know where we're going, Daddy?"

"She's clairvoyant then. She can tell when I'm about to run away… and nowhere you need to worry about, really." The he was evidently agitated, "Just to Hellfire Peninsula."

"He… He… what's dat? What's there?"

Kael'thas set Belorim on the bed while he went through drawers, pulling out clothing… but Kael'thas was panicking, and wasn't able to think of what his son might need in an emergency. Kael'thas stopped cold, overwhelmed. He stood in the middle of the floor for a long time, not able to focus. Everything was falling apart too fast. He just wasn't ready to do this, not like he thought he would be if it ever came to this…

"Daddy, I'm scared. She's so sad, so mean... Can you talk to her?"

"Why, son? The Throne of Kil'jaeden isn't frightening, is it? It's just a portal to the heart of Burning Legion forces. I'll even tell him that we're on our way… summon Skybender, we'll fly there before Illidan can catch us. They'll be waiting with guard to help… everything will be fine."

_You… would take our son to…Oh, Kael'thas, how could you? I won't let you!_

Belorim started coughing, then choking. He leaned over, cried for his Daddy.

"Bim? Bim! Are you alright? Sorn!"

"Yes, my Princes? Oh no…"

"Call for a healer!"

_I will not have my son condemned to such a miserable existence, Kael'thas. Come back to me Bim, back to your mother as it was before, within the Whiteblade. Safe inside the Light once more… I brought him into this world, and no matter where I have been abandoned, I am still his mother. We will be joined again and safe my little love, at least in death, the eternal quiet of the spirit world, beyond the veil. I don't care what Anveena has set forth…_

In another part of Tempest Keep, where the officers kept their quarters, Mavia the Maneater waited for Fennore to finish his meeting with Lady Liadrin.

Fennore was distraught. She could sense this. Mavia ached to go to him. She pressed her ear up against the door, then the rapture of their connection overwhelmed her. The succubus arched her back, breasts against the wood as if it was her master's warm chest… Lost in the vision of she and the powerful warlock together—he who had summoned her from beyond death, commanded her to kill! Mavia grinded her hips against the doorpost.

Needing Fennore like this was painful. His power, his anger, flowing through her… it was exquisite rapture. "Oh, my Master." Mavia found herself smiling, purring.

"I've not observed you to be so happy to see me since…"

The Demoness felt Illidan's breath against her neck.

"Lord Illidan! I didn't expect you—"

"Then you are calling another man your master?"

Mavia was caught and she knew it. "It is only a nickname, the Bloodknight and I—"

Illidan reached around and snatched a clawful of her long hair. "I found out about Kael'thas siding with the Burning Legion through my spies today."

"Yes, it is unfortunate—"

"I should have heard from YOU!"

Illidan snarled into her face, craned Mavia's neck back enough to snap it, almost. "Is this what my ambassador does, wait by the door for her master like some tethered dog? Fennore has enslaved you, hasn't he? That is how you eluded my harem."

She thought quickly. "No… I've obeyed you, absolutely. Kael'thas gave me my own quarters, from where I plan and organize my thoughts. I don't merely hang off the Bloodknight's arm. In fact, I've already successfully seduced the Prince's healer—"

"Show me." Illidan released her with a shove. Mavia picked up her whip and sidestepped, giving Illidan a wide berth in the hallway. As they walked through that level to the elevator Sunfury soldiers startled at seeing Illidan. They hailed him, saluted, whatever they feared was appropriate in that moment, especially with the full Demon Lord looking so vengeful. But Illidan did not look at them, he only saw Mavia. Mavia tried to look anywhere and everywhere else, but could not disconnect herself from Illidan's intense presence. His Demon magic wafted about them both. She felt hot, she sweated.

When they arrived at her room, the throb of what Illidan wanted from her became too much. "No… please, my Lord—"

"Yessssss…" he hissed and pushed her locked door in with one large hand. Illidan hardly glanced at the room then slammed her up right up against the wall. Door swinging open, within her talons' reach, Mavia grimaced and struggled while Illidan hoisted her up over his hips, then moved her to where he wanted without hands, nothing at all except for his sheer bulk. Her legs were spread so wide and she so contorted with Illidan leaning on her like this, Mavia watched her knees tremble while she fought to breathe with dignity.

Illidan bared his teeth, the growling no doubt echoed down the hallway. "Lucky for you, the bed has, in fact, been slept in."

"Yes, as I told you—"

"They say he summoned you. Is that true, Maneater?"

"He… he resurrected me."

"You allowed yourself to be weak in the presence of my ally? You let yourself get killed!"

Mavia feared for her life. She stretched her slender ginger arms between them, pushed Illidan's chest away. "The Void Reaver… I did not know of it… But you did. Or else Kael'thas would be dead by now."

"Do you think you're clever, to point something that you suppose is a weakness of mine! I shall NOT be distracted from punishing you."

Mavia clawed him, began to twist and fight for air.

"It was no oversight on my part, Maneater, I can assure you. Of course he has toys, Kael'thas is a brilliant, creative Bloodmage. He fools around when he should be working, and sometimes work is play…" Illidan used a claw to tear open her leather loincloth then. He loosened his pants next. Mavia could see it, and feared it, how he wanted her. "But that it attacked his own men… either the Legion engineers who were helping Kael'thas got clever and hoped to use the diversion to break out of their holding cells in the Arcatraz… or Kael'thas had them program it to destroy, armed it with real artillery to use at a moment's notice. And against whom, do you think? Why would he keep an armed and ready death machine functional in Tempest Keep, to activate at the slightest provocation? To force his army, destroy dissenters? Or perhaps to send through a portal to the Black Temple, directly into our forces! To me! But the control panel is destroyed, there is no evidence of his intentions left and do you know why? Because you helped that Fennore to do it!"

"I am not Kael'thas!" Mavia shouted. Just outside the open door was too quiet. Other people who lived there were most certainly listening to their fight. "Do not blame me for your failure to address your problem with the Blood Elf Prince, to challenge him. Nor will your taking me now make up for what you can't have—"

Illidan bit Mavia's neck and she gasped in pain.

He spoke into the wound, even as his teeth delved against bloodied flesh, "Your freedom is still tenuous." Illidan seemed to lose himself, closed his dark lips around the oozing welt, sucked. "You've eluded my harem, somehow… but you cannot forget that you are still mine."

Mavia leaned into his savage touch. Pulling away only helped him to hurt her. "Yesss… Master."

"Tell me no. Fight me. I'd like that better."

"Resisting you further, the way that you are incensed, would only… tempt you to kill me. I know you and I know your desires, my Lord Illidan."

"Not recently." He exhaled hot breath. Licked the side of her face with a forked tongue as he worked himself between her legs. "And at that, not well enough."

Mavia pretended to enjoy it. She growled and fought back the way that Demon women were meant to do. It was not clear if Illidan did this to spite those he feared his Maneater had sworn new loyalty to, or to satisfy himself. He did not look at her, but down on her, at her contorted body writhing against his, the sweat they worked up between them, inhaled the musk of their sex through an open mouth and over bared teeth, like a nightsaber checking to see if its mate was in season.

Without being asked, Mavia called him 'Master', told Illidan that he was perfect… and that she was grateful he put the Corrupted Ashbringer in her hand, taught her how to use it against Kael'thas, to save him…

"Oh Saturna… I do not regret it. No, I cannot have that weakness, impossible for a man like me. I would do it all again."

Mavia looked into Illidan's eyes and wanted with everything she was, to claw them out from their blackened pits.

_What are you waiting for… do it. Kill him, Mavia!_

The impulse was so acute it was like hearing a voice in her head. Mavia twisted abruptly to see Fennore standing there in the doorway. It was he who had spoken in her mind. Illidan had felt it too. He watched the Bloodknight as he rode his woman against the wall. For the first time during the encounter with Mavia, Illidan smiled. He knew it would happen, he suspected… all of this planned…

"What's wrong?" Illidan mocked. "You look ready to commit murder…"

"You evil, disgusting—"

"She is _mine. _I… can do this… if I want to." Illidan kept going, the force of his thrusts slammed Mavia into the wall, again and again.

Fennore made fists. A vein over his knuckle turned black.

_Obey me Mavia! I will not let him abuse you like this. _

_Master, no! Lord Illidan is baiting you again, can't you see that? Think of the one he cares more for, that stands between us, the only living creature that Illidan still cherishes. You will upset the true Master, undo the coven in one act!_

_But I am no longer afraid of death, not with this new power._

Illidan stayed focused on Fennore as he had his woman violently, passionately. It was like that day three years ago, when Illidan sat dying in his throne, Saturna's corpse between them. The Demon man said to resurrect his Commander but Fennore was afraid. Mavia was the only one who made sense back then, told him 'No'.

"Oh, my Master." The fiery succubus seized Illidan's attention back with a curdling growl that ended in a savage bite against his lip. She made the decision for her untrained warlock.

Illidan lost focus, so close to the brink as he was. He faltered, slid with Mavia to the floor, opened wings that enveloped them both as he raced ahead with his hips to the roaring battle-climax, the horrific nightmare end to Demon sex.

Fennore left before he could be scarred by that betrayal though. He stalked down the hallway, slowly. Fennore focused all his effort, his magic into putting one foot before the other, going forward, not back. To the Core, then to the glass lift, down to the royal quarters and Kael'thas, the coven master.

_Kael'thas! How dare you arrest me in this twisted bond with Illidan? I haven't even the power to protect her, or fight him myself! You owe me an apology, an explanation, something! No, what I need is more power, more… you must train me. More power to protect the woman I love, to get the revenge I need… _

It seemed that Kael'thas heard him, realized how Fennore was able to reach out to him at last. Fennore breached the soul link with Illidan while the Demon Lord was distracted, traveled… Now, ahead of himself, his mortal limitations, Fennore felt like he was already in the room with Kael'thas. His coven master look up from Belorim's bedside, no longer distraught by the child's condition but furious with this new presence in the room. There were others there too, physicians who tended to the boy, made efforts with their salves and instruments but gave up and shook their heads. Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider stood despite his painful defeat. He looked at nothing at all, but raised one fist covered in a bloodied red glove. Fennore could just barely make out the soiled gold embroidery, the dull shine of emeralds in that sorrowful lantern light.

Kael'thas could not speak, project back and break out of the link as Fennore was doing. Echoes of the Prince's thoughts, that was what the novice warlock realized he'd eavesdropped on not long ago, while in Lady Liadrin's presence. It was how Fennore was able to find Mavia with Illidan in the first place, because he knew simultaneously of Kael'thas' distress, and Illidan's fury.

However more talented Fennore had become than his coven master did not matter now though. Kael'thas was able to make his response to Fennore's selfish illogical demands more than clear. Terrified physicians looked up in confusion, tried to see what their Prince saw in the darkness. But they could not. Only Fennore knew what his fate would be, for breaking rules of the coven.

Kael'thas, the angry Bloodmage and protective father, set the entire length of his arm ablaze with red flame. He raised one engulfed hand, trembling with rage.

…And beckoned.


	16. An Immortal and a Mistress of Oblivion

**Son of Kael'thas **

**Chapter Fifteen: An Immortal and a Mistress of Oblivion**

(Unofficial Subtitle: Heroic class suggestions, much?)

Fennore never made it to Kael'thas' office because the Blood Elf Prince came at him first.

The only sign that it was evening in the majestic crystalline ship were the enchanted rose lights that dimmed after the dinner hour, and the cries of weary violet phoenixes descending down through the Core… They were known to echo the magic, the passion of their master. As Kael'thas stalked ever closer to Fennore through the hallway, the birds wailed in agony, almost like mourning.

The two warlocks faced off.

Sorn came out of his office then, blinked at Kael'thas through his odd monocle and got Fennore by the arm.

"Son… you should go back home."

Kael'thas turned to Sorn slowly, seething that the advisor should keep him from his victim.

"Get out of the way." Fennore said to Sorn, still intent on Kael'thas.

Sorn swallowed. "I can see…" he gestured toward the strange lens in his eyepiece, "when he is on the brink. The nether magic is so thick around him now. Fennore, if you persist baiting my Prince… I cannot guarantee your safety."

"My son faced death today, because of you."

"I don't care about you or your lies!"

"Remove the witnesses from this corridor." Kael'thas said it so low, Fennore almost thought he misheard. Sorn backed off, shook his head at Fennore and walked quickly down the corridor to discreetly dismiss all the guards, the servitors and lesser advisors, everyone… then he himself left.

A lone finger of Kael'thas' open fist twitched. That arm had never stopped burning, but the nether magic that consumed it—slowly, Fennore was learning these things as he watched his master—had died down, licked nearly as red as the royal regalia and was easy to miss.

Kael'thas yelled and seized Fennore by the collar with both hands, lifted him off his feet. The wailing of the phoenixes escalated fever-pitch. The Bloodmage snarled as he unleashed a searing burst of arcane magic. It filled their ears, the starburst welled and popped. To Fennore it felt like Kael'thas moved the entire rumbling ship underneath their feet with the force of some vengeful god.

But this was only the unholy blink spell of an angry Bloodmage. Kael'thas was capable of far worse…

"I AM YOUR MASTER!" Kael'thas shouted over the painful ripping of their mortal bodies through time and space. Light and sound peaked and blurred around them. "YOU WILL BREAK BEFORE ME!"

Fennore struggled back up blinded by passion and red light. After staggering for a careless moment, Fennore realized that they were someplace he had never been before. The black lightless room had an intricate Demonic rune drawn all over the walls. Among several terrifying and arcane black instruments stacked in corners that bent and disoriented the seething red lines of light, was a green fel-iron totem of some kind. It had twisted howling depictions of Demons and other vile creatures carved into the metal. Their claws held an object over bowed horned, scaly heads.

The novice warlock almost didn't recognize the object at first, because what should have been as familiar as death itself was tattooed with red runes carved into the bone. Flickers of energy licked up from the sophisticated etchings on the floor, the walls, the ceiling in pulses, and connected that horrid three-dimensional artwork to the profane unrecognizable idol in an intricate pattern through the charged air itself. This was a fourth dimension ripped up from the nether world, the magic of death manifested against its will:

It was the skull of Anasterian Sunstrider.

"… Why?"

"Because when I punish you, I want to really punish you. I don't want Illidan or Sorn, or anyone else to get in the way of my teaching you what you need to learn! They can't hear us with all this magical interference, and for a good reason too. You disobeyed me, Fennore, and that is only at the tip of this problem!" Kael'thas growled. "I told you not to use your powers."

"But you know why I did, Kael'thas. I had to save lives! And it was glorious! Mavia was glorious!"

If Fennore had been himself, maybe he would have seen it coming…

A powerful backhand slashed across his vision along with flying long strands of his own pale hair. And then, blood.

"That is for calling me, your Master, outside of my name!"

"You hit me? You can't do that. I am _your_ Bloodknight. I'm not at liberty to strike you back because of my oath. You're lucky that I don't strike you back—"

"Take off your armor, initiate Fennore. I want to beat you some more."

"What! I'm not listening to you—"

Kael'thas found a sick smile for Fennore, flexed the fingers of his right hand in the air, and released the flame spell. Then the seasoned warlock hit Fennore faster and harder than should have been mortally possible. Kael'thas' fist dented the red plate over the man's stomach. Then he pushed. The fiery knuckles melted the armor, Fennore could smell it burning, as well as feel it. That in itself should have been enough to make him sick. Kael'thas continued to grin wickedly as he tortured him, then he twisted his fist around, to move the hottest part of his hand to burn unbroken flesh.

"Stop… please…" Fennore was forced down onto his knees.

"That is for defying me just now. I haven't even got to the part where you abused your powers yesterday, for killing my son! Do you know how dangerous warlocks truly are, Fennore?" Kael'thas began to take his time, savor the revenge with a crooked grin. "It isn't what we do that terrifies people. It is how we think. We take from the Nether, unashamed. We enslave Demons, and dare to walk around with them, as if torturing another living creature, even a black-hearted Demon, were nothing at all. They know that we don't feed them, or speak to them, or comfort them at all. We aren't hunters with kindly animal pets, Fennore. Our lives are pain and sacrifice. Only those two experiences could draw forth the kind of amazing power we deserve. And yes, that is the other thing about warlocks. We believe that we are better than everyone else, we truly are." Kael'thas got down on one knee, refusing to let Fennore have any reprieve. He'd bored a hole into the Bloodknight's flesh, Fennore coughed up blood. He was beyond begging for mercy, when metal now pierced his insides. "That is exactly why you need to learn fear. All of us, every last one of us including myself need collars around our necks, so to speak." He sneered, bitterly. "Or else we could destroy the world of life with hardly a thought. Focus Fennore! Why aren't you healing yourself?"

Fennore began shaking his head. Kael'thas applied more pressure. "You aren't here to forget being a Bloodknight, but to become that and more. I am going to make you into what I made myself, a warlock and a mage. You must find your own niche. Now stop succumbing to the pain endemic to a warlock's condition. Heal! Survive!"

Fennore grimaced and cried, trying to lift his hands. Kael'thas was killing him. He was killing him on purpose. "Are you immortal? Are you truly? I don't believe it. I think you are a fraud, that it's just some stupid nickname. You're a liar aren't you? A man with one flimsy trick that gave him a reputation. A reputation he never really earned."

Fennore forced his eyes open, fixed them on Kael'thas.

"I hate you… Master."

"You'd better." Kael'thas threatened. "Hate and fear me, truly, because I promise that I am going to kill you if you don't even try. For endangering the life of my son you deserve nothing less."

The two men arrived at the point where death was perilously within reach. Fennore made the mistake of underestimating Kael'thas. He assumed that all the good works, the kindness would be enough to appease him, that a Bloodknight-style loyalty had won for him some kind of moral reward in the end…

"But oh, novice… you are not just a Bloodknight any more." Kael'thas let his fist erupt in putrid flame, Fennore screamed reached up to kill him, but he learned the lesson too late: it was always kill or be killed among warlocks. No such thing as honor, mercy. All along, Kael'thas had neither.

The Prince stood with fists relaxed at his sides, talking to himself, dead Fennore, or the skull of his father, it wasn't clear. "Did I go too far? Why don't you tell me. My son did not die, but I am that furious. Hours ago, the physicians tried but could do nothing, so I got down on my knees and begged the very Light, or Illidan or fate or Elune, the old gods, it didn't matter, Fennore! And one of those generous or unkind forces took pity on the Blood Elf Prince, cowering in his makeshift castle, on his false throne, in the thick of all these… horrific works. Either laughing at me or mourning my plight, someone, something, somewhere stayed the hand of death and gave my son back to me."

Fennore stepped out of his corpse, a man made of golden Light magic.

Kael'thas did not look surprised. "The Demon magic has essentially been forced from your consciousness, at last. Now, are you capable of being reasonable, Fennore?"

There was only one answer to that. "Yes, Master."

Kael'thas took off his bloodied gloves. "You should know… even without that Divine Inversion spell, I would have tried to kill you. And if you hadn't summoned enough strength at the end to fight and cast it," he shrugged, "Then I would have one less simpleton Bloodknight to deal with. Stupid people who tempt misfortune to their friends like a magnet do not deserve to live, do you disagree? What you did to me was nearly unforgivable."

"Master, if this place is secret, then how will I be resurrected—"

"I am speaking. A warlock has spells that can corrupt even the Light. A curse of tongues would throttle your spell-casting. Curse of exhaustion would hurry along your Light form, drain your power faster than you could recover. I can end you right now, even in that form if I so choose. You see how I already crave your treacherous black blood, spoiled rotten with Mavia's Demon magic. If you dare spill my secrets again I can easily make you dead, and keep you there."

Fennore nodded, tried to ignore the nagging awareness that he'd heard this before…

"Illidan is not just my Master. He is yours and Mavia's… You are a shrewd warlock already; I assumed you would have realized that from the start, that in serving me, you are beholden to the Demon Lord of Outland. We three are not just fated to live and fight together, but also to burn and die together, should Illidan become displeased. Understand?"

"Forgive me… I've heard this before Master Kael'thas."

He paused. "What do you mean… No, I _know_ what you mean Fennore but that's impossible. You see, I sensed you listening in on the Soul Link I share with Illidan a little while ago, when he appeared before me and Belorim. I was planning to tell you that feat in itself was impressive, but I haven't even got that far in your lesson today yet." Kael'thas looked at Fennore curiously. "You aren't trying to say that… you can't have already heard the things I'm telling to you now, that would mean you have some kind of foresight."

"I can tell the future then?"

Kael'thas thought about this. "I've never observed a warlock to do that before, project… you not only heard how Illidan threatened me in my apartments earlier, which by the way was dangerous and stupid, as well as amazing—"

"But I can't control it—"

"Yes you can. Clearly you can. Because you were so afraid in that moment, of what was going to happen to us, that you indulged in the pattern of the link, gauged its frequency, predicted what I might say or feel based on how well you knew me. And you are my confessor, Fennore, that intimate knowledge isn't alien to you at all. If you can know a man's feelings then you can predict his thoughts and actions. That combined with your adept handling of Demon magic… Do you know what this means?" Kael'thas lifted his eyebrows.

Fennore clasped fingers together, eager.

"It means that if you KNOW Illidan is coming to kill me, you had better damn well warn me next time, you DOLT! And don't dare ask me how to do that when you already have such an affinity manipulating Demon bonds."

Fennore stopped wincing when he realized that Kael'thas was also jealous. The coven master couldn't instruct him in that vein even if he wanted to… Kael'thas wasn't capable of it.

"Yes Master."

"If you continue smiling at me like that I won't show you how to conjure a soul stone so that you don't _die _within the hour"

Kael'thas taught Fennore how Nether magic was the power of death, as the Light was the power of life. He ordered Fennore to focus and think of himself as a shadow, the absence of life. Then, a little annoyed that Fennore had already skipped this far ahead without permission, to summon the shadow to himself, as if this shade of who he was, his soul, were a but Demon pet. Fennore obeyed. A violet stone, the color of putrid clotted blood coalesced from the air between them. Fennore was able to reach out and touch it at Kael'thas' urging.

"You can touch a soulstone in your current form because it is a part of you. Now use it."

That part was intuitive. Fennore longed for what was inside with the thirst of a warlock, the thick manifestation of Nether magic that was now his own life. Fennore secretly wished that he could always see himself in this way, as the brunt force of the Nether incarnate. He drained that power, grinning evilly, and at last, the man of Light faded. Fennore lay again on the floor. He grimaced but focused on healing his broken body first. Then he stood.

"You aren't special." Kael'thas informed him, a little bitter.

Fennore, with the enthusiasm only a student of the shadow could possess, forgot that his Master had just tried to kill him in that moment. Kael'thas clearly hated that he could not do what Fennore was capable of.

"Thank you Master."

"Shut up."

"Yes Mas—" Fennore slipped into a smug smile instead.

Kael'thas sat cross-legged on the cold painted ground and Fennore followed suit. "Warlock, I need to make you aware of something, for your own protection. I cannot help you with this, unfortunately. Well, I can intervene… but what I do to enemies in my own house is far more subtle and it won't help you very much at the moment. Your six friends are watching you now, Fennore, the way they watched Saturna before she died… That is real danger, the kind that can land a Bloodknight dead in a ditch somewhere, am I right?"

Fennore panicked. "But how did you know—"

"Saturna told me about it years ago. I don't know the name of your Bloodknight cult, and I don't want to know. That is my one grace for you, Fennore, because I sense it could get you killed, and not in the way I would like, if they ever found out."

Fennore became solemn. "You called us enemies. Is that how you see us?"

"Not a one of you is my friend."

"…I thought I was."

Kael'thas hadn't expected that. He sat up straighter. "Your loyalty is a rare thing, indeed. I'll be inclined to kill you less often from now on, Fennore the Immortal. Don't you dare smile over that."

Kael'thas waited for him to try and do it. Fennore realized that Kael'thas hadn't been joking about desiring to punish him. "The only reason that I have not taken action against you all and your wavering loyalty is my love for Saturna… That helps me to understand that whatever Lady Liadrin is up to isn't inherently wrong. I still watch my step around you six though. My spies mill about, observe. With their suggestions, I decide whether to solicit the kind of help that will keep Liadrin busy, not get me into trouble. My son, my sanity, my army… I don't need the assistance but it makes life easier, doesn't it? Now, my love life… I never ever wanted Liadrin poking around that, and I'm even more concerned that Pyorin and Daphne haven't approached me about it yet." He rolled his eyes, irritated. "But as for right now, you all are right where I want you. In my shadow. Fat and happy Bloodknights, so to speak… there's plenty of salvation to be had when I fairly point it out to you."

Fennore was amazed. Kael'thas grinned. "Liadrin is very easy to manipulate, especially when she's so worried what Blaize will think here, or what Rommath will think of her back home. By the way, you aren't terribly attached to any of the women in your group are you?"

"Master! You can't be planning—"

"Certainly not." Kael'thas scratched his chin. "I just want you to know that I can have Tempest, Liadrin, and Daphne shipped back to Silvermoon whenever I feel like. The moment they stop being useful, for Belorim… You are to tell me when they begin to plot against me Fennore. Even Saturna felt she had to… I don't doubt that they will eventually give in to that temptation as well."

Fennore didn't like this duplicitous loyalty he was fast being pulled into. Liadrin assumed the best of him, Kael'thas expected the worst. Both trusted and valued his unique abilities.

"Oh you _will _manage both sides of his effort for Prince and Country, if you want to live. Surely, Fennore, know that if Liadrin found out that you and I are conspiring together, the two of us would be in great peril. I do not want you to give them any more reasons than they already have to doubt me, or any Bloodknight that becomes close to me. Don't make it easy for them to suspect you."

Fennore's eyes drifted to the pulsing tattooed skull of Anasterian Sunstrider briefly, before he gave his assent.

"That is why this is the Coven of Two." Kael'thas went on, seeing the look but deftly choosing not to acknowledge it. "We are about to share great secrets, Bloodknight. Vile and terrible secrets that you will need to know in order to survive. It is my job as your teacher to put the fear of death into you before you make another foolish mistake, the sorts of mistakes all new warlocks who are tempted by the most powerful magic in existence are bound to make, before real oblivion can find you. You are a full warlock now, for having… surpassed me, you understand."

"I am?"

"You always were… you damned lucky bastard. If I kept fooling you for your own good, you'd come to resent me for not giving you the power you're owed."

Fennore bowed his head reverently. "Yes, Master Kael'thas."

Kael'thas' tone turned instructive. "Now, while you're looking so pathetic at the floor, why not try telling me what you see."

"Is it a Demonic rune, Master?"

"Yes it is. That, combined with the magic of my father, shrouds this room not just from Illidan but anyone who would seek to steal Sunstrider remains." Kael'thas didn't flinch when he said this, "It is why I took it… I hated to do it, but it would be worse if grave robbers went into the family crypt. Sunstriders are like living, breathing totems, we possess amazing magic in our veins, the very marrow of our bones. And so all of this magical interference makes this room in Tempest Keep practically invisible. It's complex, but in a way we are _inside_ of my father's skull. I was able to invert his powers, practically draw them out of the skull and release them all over this room… and no sane person is going to look for my father's skull… by venturing inside of it. They expect the relic to be in a safe of some kind, a lockbox on a pedestal in my bedroom perhaps… but when the skull itself rests on its own unique plane of existence, it is impossible to anticipate where it is, or even search for clues, a trail that leads to the place. Only my powerful blink spell that can bring people to this place, only my genius that knows how to unravel these careful runes without destroying the coveted object—and I'm not telling you exactly what level of the ship we are on, for your own safety. In short, my enemies seek to kill me in order to get their hands on my father's skull, but in doing so they will only succeed at forfeiting their one chance to find it." He refrained from snorting an eager nerdy laugh just in time. "… sort of puts a new spin on the phrase, 'over my dead body'." Then composed himself once more.

"So essentially… you hooked your father's skull up to something like a massive charge of Goblin dynamite? And then fixed it still further by strapping the whole volatile mess to yourself, sort of underneath your robes where only you can see or show it to other people with a blink spell… like a crazy person?" To Kael'thas' sudden glare, "Uh, I mean Master?"

Kael'thas went on, "It's not as extreme as you think, Fennore. I merely hold the controller with the big red button if that is how you choose to understand it with your little mind. And that is because his powers and mine are still connected in a way, father to son. No one else could safeguard a beloved piece of my father the way that I have, bound by blood as we are. Few people realize that the power of the Sunstrider line goes far deeper than mere intellectual prodigy. If I were my father's age, grown as powerful as he in years and ability… That's the only thing stopping people from hunting me down like some rare animal and stealing my hide or bones and flesh to do some kind of sordid summoning." It was a morbid way to brag, but Kael'thas was nearly always inclined to do so.

"Or restore the Sunwell."

Kael'thas sneered. "How would you even know that? You must have been speaking with the Titans then, to know the exact proportion of life force that could trigger a rebirth of the Sunwell. I hope you aren't assuming that I never thought of it either. But it's too risky, I won't gamble what's left of my father on something that could just fizzle or kill us all."

Fennore frowned. "I just… from what I've studied my whole life about Light magic, I assumed."

"Never reply in such a spineless tone again, by the way. Demons and the Nether, their magics always seek to consume warlocks and they thrive on weakness, like parasites on our souls. Are you frightened to learn this?"

Fennore let out a panicked breath. "Yes, Master."

Kael'thas put a hand on his shoulder and encouraged Fennore to look at him. "Good. Now you fear me and the magics you are about to command. Being humbled by things more powerful than you… that is how you can protect yourself from becoming completely lost to the whims of darkness."

"Master… I am confused. As a Bloodknight, I was taught that the Light was the most powerful school of magic, and that I had to master it. In fact, I have. I'm able to save lives with it."

"If that were true, then the Burning Legion would not threaten any of us today." Kael'thas said simply. He watched Fennore for a moment, then confided, "I don't want to put this sort of fear to you, but I want you to understand. The Burning Legion is going to win this war on the Army of Light."

Fennore flinched. "How can you say that?"

"I don't need to say it. It's the truth. Everyone knows it. All of that, though, derives from one fundamental cornerstone of magical theory. Powers that destroy act first, act fastest, and so therefore, are more lethal than those at the other end of the spectrum. Shadow and nether magics are the most volatile, then fire. After those two are the volatile forces of nature that include lightning and nature damage… frost magic comes after this, and the Light is very last. The Light can be wielded with the least amount of sacrifice on the part of the caster. The Light is the most docile school of magic, and so it is easy to save lives with the Light. That is all the Light does anyway, mend and promote life, as it is endemic to every living creature in the first place." He shrugged. "So, in a way, you haven't mastered it, Fennore. You've simply let it have its way with you, like a mistress, like a woman nagging your ear off. I'm sure Mavia has begun to do that already."

Fennore chanced a little smile at the horrifying joke.

Kael'thas waved his hand in the air, looking bored. "All that is to say, whether you like it or not, the Human and Dwarf paladins of the Silver Hand are right. They know better than Bloodknights when it comes to the Light."

"But—"

"They've wielded it for far longer. Are you really that zealous, that you're going to begrudge them that?"

"No, Master."

"All of this has a point, by the way, though I know I'm prone to tangents. Fennore, Bloodknights do with the Light what warlocks do with shadow and demon magic, if it helps you to think of it that way." He scratched his chin. "There are similarities enough, I guess. Bloodknights have lost their fear of the Light. They let the restorative power of the Light consume them, as far as is reasonably possible without giving themselves completely over to it. Warlocks take from the Nether, the place beyond the realm of life where shadow magic comes from. We take and take… but never allow ourselves to be fully consumed. As I said earlier, the difference is, warlocks wield a fundamentally more powerful magic, the kind of magic the Burning Legion wields deftly against the Shatar."

Kael'thas stood and paced for a bit. "From what I've observed over the years, paladins borrow from the Light only when it is needed, and then give back what they don't use, like conserving a canteen of drinking water in the desert. Bloodknights drain their water pouches, and then steal their friends' because they love the water so much. They hunt for an oasis and then kill everyone else in their party to have it to themselves, all for the sake of the water, the thrill of having that much water that they could never possibly drink all by themselves. A warlock goes a step further than even that. They wade into that shining pool, drink it, breathe it, develop a fetish for it," his glance seemed to tease Fennore, who was in love with a succubus for years and everyone knew it. "We nearly drown ourselves… but at the last moment, when our lungs are burning, we come back up for air. At least, the good warlocks do. They dare to go that far."

"That is why you forged a Soul Link with Lord Illidan, even went as far as summoning him, but never enslaved him, all this time?"

Kael'thas turned back to the rune on the floor. "Exactly. And that reminds me, about the Demonic rune I've drawn on all over this room. It's enough to scramble, if you will, the conversation you and I are having right now. Illidan can't make sense of it, it's like so many voices talking over the one he's planted in my mind, all in tongues of Demon magic. I have to draw Demonic runes from time to time anyway, for my warlock divining. It's not out of the ordinary, so that means we can continue to meet in secret, initiate, though we can't do it often, or for very long. I only wish that I could somehow pick up this floor and take it with me wherever I go. Then this damned collar wouldn't have me enslaved to that… that…" Kael'thas balled his hands into fists. "Finally, I can express myself and I haven't got words for how much I _hate_ Illidan Stormrage!"

Fennore dared to say, in the confident tone Kael'thas had urged him to use. "But you are still his friend. You hate Illidan but you also feel loyal to him. That is how I feel about Mavia… I hate what she did to me. I'm so disappointed in her for tricking me into being her warlock, and for forcing me when all I wanted to do was love her. But that it is only disappointment… that means I care about the decisions she makes, that I think she can do better. I want to help her be a better person. Earlier, you wanted me to hate you, not just fear you Kael'thas. And though you're teaching me, we've been going back and forth like friends. I feel that we _are_ friends, or at least we somehow became friends because of this arrangement. I don't care how you glossed over it earlier. When I was just your confessor before, you wouldn't let me get this close to you, but now, we're sharing everything aren't we? You even confessed to me that… you're rooting for the Burning Legion to win this conflict."

Kael'thas crooked a finger over his lips, thinking. "As Illidan is to me, so I am to you, so you are to Mavia… and you don't need to be a trained warlock to get it either. From a basic mathematical standpoint, through common sense, it's obvious, isn't it? Yes, you're right, Fennore. Illidan betrayed me in the worst possible way, but I knew it would happen. I'd already made my bed and was lying in it when Saturna came along. I told her as much, that Illidan would come between us, but she wanted to risk it. And now… a very cruel part of me, the part that is a savage warlock addicted to the Demon magic that pulses through Illidan's veins, wants to blame Saturna for her own death. But that is wrong, so very wrong." Kael'thas looked up, sorrowful. "But, let's not revisit the past, Fennore. Let's get back to the lesson."

Kael'thas bent and sifted through some of the strange twisted objects in the dark corner behind his father's skull, his form cut by flickering red light that made the Prince seem more intense than normal in his royal regalia. He came back to Fennore with a thick tome.

"Master… you never did object to what I said, about the Burning Legion. And you already confessed to me about the Void Reaver, how the Legion Engineers agreed to help you build one in exchange for their eventual manumission. But you wouldn't free dangerous scientists, would you? But if they were _your_ side you wouldn't have to set them free—"

"Fennore."

Kael'thas took a long time to gather his thoughts. "Think of all you know about me. Think about how badly I want to survive, after everything that's happened, after everything that's been taken away from me." He nearly laughed, but it was broken-hearted. "Think of the seven deadly sins… I've lied, I've stolen, I've committed adultery, I've killed in cold blood, I've taken far more than my share of anything that ever came my way. I enslaved a Naaru! A pure being of Light, for goodness' sake! And now, on top of everything else, I have a son. A full warlock in training knows his master intimately, I won't rob you of that privilege now that the stakes are so high. It's just as important as fearing me, knowing everything about me, Fennore. You need to know that I am a man as well as a monster, so that you can aspire to be like me, to surpass me one day and seize that kind of balance in your own life as you grow in power. Though I cannot say it—it hurts me to say it—I think you already know the answer."

"My Prince… My Master… you know that it isn't right. You can't! The Scourge, they are agents of the Burning Legion. You'd become just like the ones who killed your father."

Kael'thas looked him dead in the eye. "If siding with them could give me the strength to kill Illidan, and to kill Arthas, for taking those two most precious people away from me, Anasterian and Saturna... If the Burning Legion could enable me to protect my son, then I would do it. He isn't safe right now! Belorim, myself, everyone else in this fortress is living on borrowed time! Time lent to us by a mad Demon Lord, who killed the woman I love… on a whim. A whim! Because we had a mere falling out… and Lady Vashj schemed with Illidan and used that power as leverage, to displace me by his side permanently. And even now, I sound jealous for having been pushed out, don't I? Because Lady Vashj is now Second in Command beside Illidan instead of me… By the Sun, I'm all screwed up." Kael'thas turned back to the book, trying to go on as if it were nothing. "But nothing's decided yet. And I'm sure you can imagine what would happen if you ever told anyone what I've been considering. The Coven of Two is as sacred as death and all its magic Fennore."

Fennore ran fingers through his pale hair. "I just wanted to know how to make Mavia do what I wanted her to… I never signed up for all of this!"

"Fennore, you became a warlock on your own, without my help. A lifetime of suppressing your talent for demonology finally brought you to this horrible end. Perhaps you cannot understand the value of what I am teaching you now, but one day you will appreciate having such a benevolent Master."

"This is benevolent! Confusing my moral values with confessions of the Burning Legion's strength? Killing me, really trying to kill me earlier, for disobeying you? Ruining my Bloodknight's oath? And… the other one? I don't feel fortunate at all, Master Kael'thas."

"I am indulging your personality, your disloyalty, and your conscience instead of utterly breaking you from the start. A lot of covens would call my method of training you unconventional, carefree, even. That is because most warlocks are so terrified of shadow magic that they hate themselves for using it. They feel that their students, even themselves, need to be punished, to undergo mental and physical penance on a regular basis to keep from going too far. Every last one of them incompetent with magic for it, and incapable of having any real meaningful relationships with other people. It is just another way of succumbing to the influence of predatory shadow magics, by letting them hobble the unworthy, select their own masters."

"Master, some might argue that, considering how far you've come in Outland, you have become exactly what they fear. Doesn't the fact that you are working for Lord Illidan, and considering joining the Burning Legion… make them right?"

Kael'thas really smiled then. "And so many people still love me, knowing what they do. As Saturna once put it… everyone still believes that deep down, I'm a good person. But I'm not making anyone see me that way, Fennore. I don't have the suggestive powers of a full Demon Lord. Maybe people think that because… because I'm still capable of good works. Many a Demon have also called me a 'compassionate warlock.' No matter what, I have maintained my dignity as a person, I've embraced myself, no matter how cruel or selfish I can be sometimes. Loving myself enables me to love others. And might I make a correction: I've _befriended_ a powerful Demon Lord, and I'm _open-minded_ about the Burning Legion. I don't hate anyone or anything because it is. That's the sort of person I am deep down, believe it or not. It will probably get me into trouble one day. Maybe it already has, but I like trouble.

"You're crazy." Fennore shook his head in disbelief.

"No, Lord Illidan is crazy. The people who run the Burning Legion are crazy, or else they would have conquered Outland and Azeroth by now. I'm not a fool. I bet that if either of them gave me the power I deserved, I could set them all straight in a year or two, maybe less. But that's a little dark, isn't it? Let's not dwell on that too long, Fennore the Immortal, when death and daylight march along as if they owned the place. Here. Get comfortable and study this for a while, since I can't let you take it home and risk everyone seeing. In thirty minutes, I am going to test you on what you know about succubus physiology."

Fennore lightened up instantly. "Oh, I already know everything on this subject."

"Really? Because I don't mind punching a hole in your stomach with another Incinerate spell if you fail. In fact, let's do it now."

Fennore shrank. "Um… a little review couldn't hurt, actually. And Mavia might be pleased."

"I sincerely hope that you don't go around wondering how you will impress her. That's the wrong track entirely." Kael'thas wandered back to the frightening totem on which his father's skull rested. Was he studying his handiwork, performing a kind of magical maintenance? Or was he mourning? Still mourning the terrible loss after all this time…

"Master Kael'thas?"

"Yes, fellow warlock." His rich voice, now gone gentle.

"Thank you. For… showing me that I can be a Bloodknight as well as a warlock. And… for being the only one here who takes me seriously."

"I always took you seriously. You and everyone else."

"And I also think you should know… the six of us, we're sort of in disagreement right now, over how to follow you. No matter what you think, or what you may be planning, we really want you to survive too. We want you to do well, we really care about what happens to you, and Belorim."

"I'm your Prince, of course you do."

"No, Kael'thas, you don't understand. What you have done for the Blood Elf people has affected all of us deeply. It would be a tragedy if you simply got greedy and threw all that progress away… Master Kael'thas, I mean."

"So, I'm greedy, am I? That doesn't endear me to you or your cause at all, name-calling." Still he spoke with his back turned, entirely focused on the skull of his father.

"It is the truth." Fennore raised his voice. "You have everything in the world that a man could want. And even if Saturna is gone… you've had true love, you know what it feels like. And every day that you look at your son, you can remember and feel grateful. The woman I love doesn't even really have a mind of her own. Pyorin and Sunthraze are sort of banging their heads against the wall, with the women they want. And don't get me started on the worst of the worst, General Blaize and that strange arrangement he has with Lady Liadrin. None of those things are love, the kind that makes a man feel like his life is worth living. I've lived longer than you have, I've fallen in and out of love, been burned… Trust me, I know. I'd give anything for what you have, even a piece of it."

"Illidan took all that away from me."

"And he feels terrible about it. Or else, you'd be dead by now. Now do you see what I see? You can have it all, Master Kael'thas, if you'd just take that risk and reach out to the people who care about you. We are the only witnesses to what has really happened to you in Outland. You should really let us… let us in, let us help you."

_Just like Saturna._ Fennore hadn't said it, but Kael'thas could tell it was what he meant. How many times had they all mourned over that senseless loss? If only she'd trusted them, turned to them in her hour of need, maybe they could have helped her. Some of them, like Pyorin, were haunted by the certainty of it, that all those years ago, only one little conversation stood between her life and death. But now it was too late, and that was a worse pain.

"Yes… sharing secrets does make us stronger." Kael'thas conceded. "You've given me a lot to think about."

"But, you can't think if you can't get laid." Fennore couldn't resist putting in. This made Kael'thas turn completely around, back to harsh reality again.

"Time's up, warlock! I hope you have your healing spell ready…"

"Awwww… Dammit! I knew I shouldn't have said that."

"Seeing the line and crossing it regardless. That is what makes us good warlocks. We'll see if you've mastered the second part of that, coming back across the line before you ruin yourself. Now give me my book back and recite, smart ass!"

_That evening…_

Fennore was able to admit to himself afterwards that he'd only fled to find Kael'thas after the Void Reaver incident because he feared he had lost Mavia. What Illidan did to the woman he loved was terrible, but what Mavia in turn did to Illidan, welcomed those horrific advances was far worse. Fennore realized that he was not jealous. Mavia had acted, in that moment, from a position of strength. But that she'd saved his life by sacrificing her dignity… no woman, Demon or not should ever have to suffer that.

He knocked on her door, and waited this time. Illidan or no Illidan.

It creaked open on its own. Mavia sat on the bed, looking as broken as she had the day Fennore found her in the Black Temple. Whip coiled and useless at her feet, the room a shambles.

"I failed you, my Master."

Fennore folded his hands behind his back, paced. His red metal greaves crunched slivers of broken glass and furniture.

"You must know that I did not want to betray you, Fennore—"

"I learned a lot of things today, about the nature of Nether magic, and my own abilities where Demon power is concerned. Mavia, you did what our master would want. It is what Kael'thas would have ordered you to do, and you sensed that. Succubae are very good at reading a person's desires. I don't think that Kael'thas realized… my projecting about what he might do or say in the future had a little more to do with your powers and how well I know them, than my own naked ability as a warlock. We work together on everything, don't we? We're bonded by soul and in magic." He had a smile for her but that faded.

Mavia agreed with his conclusions, her eyes sparked. "I have come to desire you more. I have never had such a connection with a warlock. Our combined power is truly deadly—"

"So is that how it really works in the end? Obeying your superior's will is not always tacit… But Demon pets come to know it intimately. Mavia, you have no room to ever disobey, at least that's what I read in Master Kael'thas' book."

"A succubus always has a choice. We can fight for our masters, or die at their hands."

Fennore covered his eyes. "Is that all? Really all you've got left to live for… Oh, I'm so sorry Mavia. Before my lesson today I had no idea."

"It is my life. As long as I am a pet—"

"Then I don't want you to be my pet anymore, not after what I've studied. Mavia, I've been thinking about this… I love you and your powers, but not in this way. Not if you're only going to suffer for knowing me. I am going to set you free."

"NO!" Mavia flared, and raced on tiny cloven hooves, nearly floating with her wings outstretched to stop him in his tracks. "How dare you suggest such a thing—"

"Illidan won't know, because you've distracted him for now. He's gone away, hasn't he? He doesn't suspect our Coven anymore so it won't hurt anyone. But right now it is hurting you and me. And the Nexus is going to want to kill us when they find out."

"Master Kael'thas means to protect us." She insisted.

"But he can't. He thinks he is all powerful, but now that I can see him as a warlock… our talented Master is just a man, at the end of the day."

"Can Illidan win the fight against the Burning Legion alone? No. But he gathers other powerful creatures around him, to help him do battle. That is why I came to Outland, to lend my strength, though it has turned out that Illidan is incapable... In the end, Master, that is all one _can_ do. Victory is never guaranteed. If we wish to survive then we must lend our powers to Master Kael'thas, enhance the amazing natural talent he possesses."

"So then you _want_ to be a slave, Mavia? You should be free. I know in my heart that what I'm doing to you—whether you asked me to or not—is wrong. I'm taking advantage."

Mavia wavered a bit. Her brow creased and she looked very angry for a time, as she worked through her thoughts. She came back decided and with confidence, but it wasn't the coy bolstered seduction Fennore was used to. She managed a painful sincerity.

"I am not just any slave, but your slave. You ask me if I want freedom… of course I do. But how could we even achieve that, not through your death or mine. I do not wish for you to die, Fennore the Immortal. I wish for you to live. I wish for you to succeed. I want to fight at your side. The very thought of you quitting me," she growled, "Angers me! It did not before, but it does now. You are mine to abuse and obey when it suits me. If another soul comes between us, and takes you away, my toy, my trifle… then I shall murder him! If you dare try and put me out of this arrangement I will kill you, Fennore the Immortal!"

Fennore blinked.

"Furthermore," Mavia composed herself, "we are bound by our souls, and it cannot be undone."

"Mavia… I studied quite a few things about succubae today. Are you saying that you…" to her flare in temper, whip pointed at his chest, "I love you too."

She crossed her arms. "No you don't. You want to throw me away, to satisfy your Blood Nexus."

He smiled at the airs of a jealous woman, and did he dare even think it… girlfriend? Rather than push the issue further, Fennore sneaked arms around Mavia's waist then kissed her. "Demons mate for life. That was the most poignant thing I read in Master Kael'thas' book today. And the very phrase that was used… 'They collaborate their violent urges in order to increase chances of survival. They wish each other to succeed, they take immense pleasure in fighting side by side, when they aren't sparring with each other'… something to that effect."

Mavia pretended not to care.

"How do I become your mate, Mavia?" he pulled her closer.

"Well, not by asking—"

"Know then, that I am very interested in having you all to myself." He kissed her hand. "Please corrupt me, undo me, whenever you will. Or if that is the wrong extreme then I will lavish you with gifts and attention, like a mortal woman. Tell me, my Mistress of Oblivion, seductress and destroyer of my will, my body and soul. What is your heart's greatest desire? I promise that as your Master I will give it to you."

She failed to hide her smile. "I… can't. No man has ever been able to give me this, and I do not want to expose you to an impossible task."

Fennore walked a circle around her. He loved and admired her, but also studied her. It was the thirsty scholarly look of a warlock. Mavia started purring.

"I will find a way. If I can manage the impossible for you, prove to you that I am the strongest, the alpha male then you can't turn me down. I order you to tell me what it is."

Mavia was reticent but gave in, for him. "I want to be free. To live without fear of enslavement, of being conquered. I have tried in my life but failed to achieve this. It is simply impossible for a succubus, even an Illidari Maneater to do."

"That's not an impossible request, actually, just incredibly specific. Tell me, do you still live in fear of being enslaved?"

"No, Master, but that is because I am already enslaved."

"You enjoy being bonded to me however."

Surprised, intrigued, "Well… yesss."

"And who can conquer you but other powerful Demons? Like damnable Illidan."

"Please, I do not wish to be exposed any further, this is an awful weakness of mine…"

"I was afraid of Demons and their destructive power for the first part of my young life Mavia." Fennore began to smile. "And do you know what I did to overcome my fears? I became an expert Demon-slayer. Lady Liadrin _did_ say for me to recruit someone…"

"This does not sound wise," she cautioned.

"How would you like to learn how to torture someone like Illidan Stormrage precisely? Then you would not live in fear, you would know that given the opportunity, you could best him. Torturing and slaying Demons, it is a large part of what a Bloodknight can do. Saturna almost killed Illidan with her Bloodknight's power, you know that. You saw the mortal wound she gave Illidan, and he still bears the white scar. And as far as the loyalty to Prince and Country… as far as I'm concerned Master Kael'thas is Quel'thalas so we've got that part down pat."

Mavia had begun to follow Fennore around the room. "I do admire Master Kael'thas, he is a magnanimous and deliciously sssinister warlock… But I can't wield the Light?"

"Because it's painful? Really, dear, I thought you'd been paying more attention when we played together." He stopped short and took both her hands, entwined their fingers where she could see. Fennore started a golden healing spell that made Mavia wince, then she snarled and endured it.

Fennore leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Just like the other night… Come on, I know that you can take even more." He intensified it. "As Master Kael'thas told me, I don't want you to forget how to be a succubus. I love you, I would never change you Mavia. However, I do see that you have potential for more. Let me make you into what Kael'thas has made me, a warlock and a Bloodknight. My sweet, my Mistress of Oblivion… please claim this better tomorrow for yourself. Fight, survive… find your own niche. We're so close… you know the vision that I have for us, can't you see it now? A way for us to be together, truly."

The Light burned the Demoness' skin. But with Fennore's help, his kisses, his caresses… she learned to like it.

Fennore took that opportunity to make up for what he'd failed to do that afternoon. He lay Mavia down in the rubble, filled the room with his loving ferocity to replace the echoes of what ugliness had been there. The Bloodknight Demonologist was able to catch his prey off-guard, tease her with all he knew about the Light but deigned not to reveal yet to someone so untrained. All the while, Fennore savored the Demon body with a special eye, one trained for recognizing and taking full advantage of demonic stimulus. He bent the woman, as far as she could go in order to increase what she could bear, but chose not to break her. Not as Kael'thas had broken him. Fennore was making Mavia into a Bloodknight, with a thirst for revenge a reverence for power and honor, a tolerance for mercy. He saw the difference now, between what warlocks and Bloodknights could do. Fennore accepted that he could bear both. He would ask Mavia to only take the one she needed, so that she could live without fear.

Fennore and Mavia made love many times that way, teaching each other about their powers and seeking to find balance. Whomever knows how they did it, who even wants to? But on one such passionate evening, days later, Mavia informed Fennore under no uncertain circumstances, that he'd become her mate.

Grimacing, she conjured Light magic and healed him of the nasty wounds she'd left before the passionate orgasm. Then the Demon woman felt self-conscious and left the bedroom. Fennore smiled to himself in the darkness and dared to summon the woman he loved back, to reassure her. This Fennore successfully managed with hardly an incident, which was good because Kael'thas would certainly kill him if he found out he broke the rules again.

But Kael'thas never did find out, when the Coven Master himself had asked Fennore to find a way to break the rules, but come back across that line without losing his dignity. And so, for every day that Fennore grew stronger, with the help of Kael'thas' instruction, he went home and secretly gave to Mavia as well, so that the woman he loved would not be left behind. That is how the Bloodknight, the Immortal Demonologist Fennore now insisted he be called within the coven, learned to love who he was and love his powers. Saving Mavia enabled Fennore the Immortal to find balance in his life at last, to keep his dignity.

Thus trained, Fennore eventually found the courage to do what he'd been dreaming of since the day Mavia accepted him, even if it did involve breaking his back and a plot to steal freedom from Illidan's advances. The strange man spoke with confidence the way Kael'thas taught him, with the Nexus and Illidan firm in mind, careful not to spill his Master's secrets… all the big provisions. And then, finally, as a man in full control of his destiny, since he was willing to take the right kinds of risks in order to find lasting happiness. All earmarks of a good warlock.

"Can I give you a ring, Mavia?" Fennore finally let it out, "To make it official?"

"No, but I can bite off your ring finger and heal it back for you with my new Bloodknight powers. That is less obvious to everyone and you could always lie and say it was a mere wound."

Fennore wasn't sure if he liked this idea or not, though… the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. It sounded better than his obvious marrying the Demon woman. Where would they even find a priest?

He smiled up at Mavia, a little wary, but proud. However morbid the response, it was definitely a yes.

"Oh, you are capable of the best sort of mischief when I let you indulge in the thrill of my Light magic."

"Capable of nothing short of oblivion. Is that what you want, my mate and Master, for me to destroy you body, will, and soul? I would be proud to do this for you, for all time." She kissed his fingers, raised them to her lips…

Completely enthralled, for he had to be in order to stand it, Fennore offered himself without reservation.

"Yes, you are my Mistress of Oblivion, Mavia. I will honor and cherish you forever."

She sucked his finger, feral eyes whirling. "And so we will be like to each other as a mortal husband and wife. But better." And she made a show of bearing her teeth. "My sweet, stupid Fennore. My Immortal."

And sank her sharp teeth through flesh and bone.


	17. What's Coming to Sunthraze

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Sixteen: What's coming to Sunthraze**

Fennore's relationship with his fellow Nexites was now incredibly strained. Mavia went with him everywhere, and it got so that Lady Liadrin had to threaten him not to bring Mavia, stealthed or no, to their secret meetings. Sunthraze, especially, felt burned after the Void Reaver incident. That his own initiate into the Blood Nexus could turn against him, treat him worse than dirt was very hard to swallow. To the others it became clear that, through all the teasing, Sunthraze and Fennore had been friends. Not anymore though. Sunthraze refused to work with Fennore on anything. Liadrin made her usual oaths against it, but that made no difference when the redhead was beginning to actually hate his supposed 'blood brother.'

And Fennore walked about very high and mighty these days. He was fast becoming beyond teasing. They noticed it more when Mavia was not there by his side. He had a confidence all his own. It frightened them to finally see that it wasn't just winning over the vile woman of his dreams. Fennore's crooked confident smile, his insistence in his own abilities was coming from someplace else. Liadrin sort of announced before the group that it must be thanks to Kael'thas and wasn't that a model example for them all, to mind their tasks regarding the Prince? But this seemed more like her giving them a scapegoat in order to disseminate the growing tension. Humor, it seemed, was the way in which they managed to keep their more zealous Bloodknight tendencies in check, which had always been Sunthraze's department. After what Sunthraze claimed was Fennore making a threat on his life, such comedic relief was in dangerously short supply these days.

Some time later, Sunthraze made one final attempt to win back his once friend. "Hey Demon Lover, what in the hell happened to your finger?"

Pyorin looked on with the others. All of them coming from the latest uncomfortable Nexus meeting. The nasty ring-line bruise at the base of the ring finger on Fennore's right hand was impossible to miss.

"Can you keep a secret?" He began, but no, of course they couldn't when the stakes were so high. Fennore settled on, "Mavia did it. I gave her one too, though mine is far neater. It means we belong to each other."

Daphne erupted in a fawning and probably misguided "Awwwww…"

"Why that's the dumbest thing I ever heard—"

Fennore spat back at Sunthraze, "Yes, those such as yourself are incapable of grasping real power," then eyed Tempest, "…or appreciating real love from a halfway decent woman."

Tempest didn't take it as hard as Sunthraze did. She snorted irreverent laughter and jumped on the smart-mouth too. "Well he sure got that right, Shortstuff. It's like when I burn you with the butt of my cigarettes after sex."

Everyone laughed hard at a reddened Sunthraze who didn't deny it. No one noticed Fennore, as usual. But when the covert warlock could always go home to his Mavia, it just wasn't that important anymore.

Therefore, Fennore had not whimpered or teased Sunthraze back, but attacked him, went directly for the kill. The hopeful Bloodknight took that shot at his tender love-life more than personally. Especially when that exchange also proved to be the last of any real conversation between the two men.

A dejected Sunthraze decided to focus on a more pleasant aspect of his life instead…

He recalled, rather satisfied one evening, that he had a date with Daphne. After flaunting that in Pyorin's face during lunch, which was a great laugh, and refusing to speak with Tempest about it at dinner, which infuriated her by the way and was an even better laugh, Sunthraze made himself ready for what was supposed to be a very fine break from the aching disappointment that was his life in Tempest Keep. With Kael'thas and Fennore ganging up on him and everyone else in the Nexus... Sunthraze felt sure of that, though he couldn't prove it.

However, Sunthraze found the lock to his door jammed when he was finally dressed and ready. This delayed him about ten minutes. It caused him to miss the special lift for the secured observation deck, a hundred stories above. The wait for the next one was another fifteen. When at last the late elevator came, it was empty, all the happy star gazers and their dates gone to see the northern lights at the earliest opportunity. He sighed, walked onto the platform alone and waited for a while until the glass doors began to shut.

Someone came running to catch the ride…

Sunthraze held the door open for her with a strong hand. "I've got it, don't worry—"

"I'm not the one who needs to worry…"

"Tempest!" then Sunthraze did try to let the doors close. The woman had her axe drawn.

She broke the glass when the doors shut in her face, and climbed on at the last moment.

"We'll be sucked out of this damned thing because of you. There's no air lock anymore! Are you crazy?"

She got him by the navy shirt collar and slammed Sunthraze up against the wall. Her metal greaves crunched over shards of glass. He was right, the air pressure was beginning to be too much, the elevator was moving up so far, so fast. Rushing air blew red bangs out of Tempest's face and Sunthraze saw two angry eyes wide and daring him.

"Alright, this isn't sexy anymore—"

"Shut up."

He did.

Tempest lifted him off of his feet now, shoved him again and harder. "You're about to start dating my best friend. Do you know what that means? Daphne is practically a sister to me. I'd do anything for her. In fact… I've done everything for her."

"Heh, you almost sound like you—"

She set him down and slapped him. "Don't… piss… off… Daphne."

Sunthraze swore and rubbed his flushed cheek. "Is that what this is about? Dammit, Tempest… there are other ways to watch out for a friend."

"But you're no friend of mine. I don't trust you, that's why I had to do it this way."

Sunthraze realized then that Tempest was behind his bedroom door being locked, the elevator, everything. Speaking of which, the platform jolted and trembled then. He slipped and fell in glass. Tempest was heavier in her plate and grabbed onto Sunthraze. They were hurtling towards the top of the Keep like normal, but the difference in pressure without a sealed space was making the ride harder on the contraption.

Roaring air made it hard for them to hear each other.

"You're jealous?" Sunthraze shouted to her.

Tempest was holding onto the narrow edge of a metal seal that kept the glass in place. "We're probably going to die because of my little trick… and you're asking me these stupid things!"

"Yes! Stupid, that is what you are. Why are you going to extremes, Tempest! If you want me then you can have me—"

"I don't want you, you idiot!"

Sunthraze's hand slipped from hers then and Tempest screamed. She let go the wall and reached for him with both arms. They slammed up against the broken window. Tempest barely saved Sunthraze from being stabbed on the edge, because she dared to swerve around and hit the cracked glass in her armor first.

The elevator climbed faster. They tried to hold on but the force of air was making them slide to the open gap in the damaged window.

"If I wasn't so short. Fat Blaize would never slide so easily…"

"Shh… it's good on you. I won't let go." But Tempest had started to cry. "I'm sorry, Shortstuff…"

All of the glass in the elevator shattered then. Tempest whimpered and wrapped arms and legs around Sunthraze to protect him. He reached arms up around her neck and pulled her head down. Silvery shards sliced through Sunthraze's shirt, broke and shattered against Tempest's black plate. Then they were whipped around and thrown…

Up.

The elevator stopped. Momentum sent them hurtling up with nothing to hold onto and they slammed against the metal ceiling of the chamber. Tempest felt the wind knock out of her. She tasted her own blood. Then the floor, sparkling white with so many crumbs of sharp glass came at her. She screamed, then black.

"It's okay. Lucia… come on, look at me. Everything's alright. Can you walk?"

Tempest lay face down on the elevator floor. She felt glass on her face but it didn't cut her. There was a barrier of some kind, a faint white shield that softened all the pain…

Sunthraze leaned in, he looked awful, his own golden shield of light fading. "Baby, are you alright? Please say something."

Tempest sat up and dusted off her hands, playing strong. But it wasn't nothing. It was horrible. Sunthraze could have died and it would have been all her fault.

"Oh no, come here…" and Sunthraze held her fast when she gave into hoarse, wracking sobs at last. "Sweetheart… It's alright, we're fine. Everything is going to be okay."

"I really messed up your date with Daphne…" she wept, "because I was jealous."

Sunthraze smiled and kissed her face. "If that's all that's bothering you right now, then… you're going to be just fine." He laughed a little. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

They weren't on the observation deck. One of the white office levels was halfway under them. Sunthraze looked up and saw that the elevator wasn't stuck on anything. A gentle, musical mewing reached his ears after he helped Tempest down to safety. Two red phoenixes hovered on the other side of the elevator, through the thick enchanted glass wall of the Core. They were still like the lift, as if time itself had stopped for both magic and machine. Then as they had to eventually, the birds relaxed their hold. One sailed down with the broken platform, helping it to descend safely. But that was somehow strange… the glass fused back together, the metal unbent as it faded from view… the whole thing unhappenning.

The last phoenix sang triumphantly to them and soared off. Sunthraze sensed that it was going to get help.

"Phoenixes… can do that?"

But the budding admiration for Kael'thas' minions waned next to the sound of Tempest crying. She hadn't seen any of it. "Sunthraze… please stay with me."

"Of course I will, don't worry." The phoenixes in the Core… that was something else altogether. But that was too much to think about right now.

He wiped her tears away and then, caught up in the wonder of it all, dared to kiss her.

"I adore you, Tempest the Raven. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, ever."

The elevator, mysteriously mended, came back up after a while. Lieutenant Dacian and some Sunfury Magisters were inspecting the scene. They helped both Bloodknights back onto the platform and it descended. Tempest hugged Sunthraze so that she couldn't see what was going on around them. He stayed calm, though being in the elevator again so soon was hard on him too.

He walked her back to the room she shared with Daphne. Tempest asked Sunthraze to stay, and he did. He watched her undress, tried to help her into something more comfortable, but Tempest was needy in so many ways at once, she never made it. The bed was suddenly underneath Sunthraze, and before long, so was Tempest.

"Baby… thank you for finally trusting me. I'm going to take care of you, you'll see. I know better than to hurt you." Sunthraze kissed and told her.

"Eventhough I nearly killed you?" Tempest mourned. "I'm no good really… Just like with Pyorin, you're only going to get hurt."

But she was finally giving herself to him. Sunthraze was grateful.

"No Lucia. Don't ever say his name to me again. Not when I am better than him. Not when you drive me so crazy. By the Sun, I love you so much…"

_At that same moment…_

Daphne sat alone with her drink at a table just behind the eager row of star gazers on the Observation Deck. Sunfury soldiers dressed spectacularly for the event gasped up at the brilliant northern lights. Through many wall-sized panes of slick glass the waves of energy across the dark violent sky above Tempest Keep warmed yellow, then green. An overpowering blue muted that, but then it blushed and burned itself red among the stars. Red like a rose, like blood…

Like the final drops of wine Daphne sneered at while they trickled into her empty glass.

A man in a nice suit strolled over to her, pulled out a chair. "I've been admiring you from across the room pretty lady, and let me just say—"

"Go to hell." She kicked the chair under the table, hard, so it fell out of his hand.

Then, when he was gone, Daphne let herself admit it. Her ruined evening with Sunthraze… it just made too much damned sense.

"Tempest. Oh… you're a fucking dead woman."

_Later…_

"YOU SKANK!" Daphne came in and slammed the door.

Sunthraze stopped grinning and re-buttoning his silk shirt instantly. Then he looked down at himself, seemed to remember why he was dressed so nicely in the first place and, "Shit! Daphne, I'm so sorry. Please don't—"

"You selfish… horndog, scheming… bitch!" Daphne kept cutting herself off as she struggled to get out of her shoes and stockings.

Sunthraze looked, wide-eyed from one woman to the other. Tempest had been comfortable under the covers and smoking a cigarette in the lower bunk. But the gray ash of the forgotten cigarette fell and burned a tiny hole in the sheet when the redhead saw her roommate.

"Uh… look Daphs, it isn't what you think—"

"That is _my_ date you're screwing, isn't it? No, I think it's exactly what I think…" she growled at how that'd come out redundant, stammered to regain furor, "I mean that I think, I think… Arghh! Tempest, I could _kill _you!"

"Well, then be my guest. I'd love to watch." Sunthraze laughed it off but Daphne was really angry, and Tempest truly terrified. Sunthraze inched away from both of them.

"Look, Daphne sweetie… it isn't like that, you see the elevator crashed and we—"

"Oh, I know all about the damned elevator. It crashed because someone broke the glass, with an axe! I axed around—_asked _around! Even if it was an accident, it was an accident you caused. You can't stand for me to take one of your men, can you Tempest? But you can just snatch mine right up from under my nose. Well you know what…" more struggling to get out of the date clothing. Sunthraze, dressed again, was concerned that he wasn't enjoying this as much as he should. "… you can take back your stupid earrings, the lipstick… and the damned skirt you let me borrow! How could you encourage me to have someone of my own and then just take him away!"

The little black skirt had a row of buttons above the thigh. The last two were left open, the rest a tease… but Sunthraze blinked when he saw that the last three weren't superficial but actually a way to open the skirt. Yes, of course this would be something belonging to Tempest. Daphne snatched it open, whipped the mini-skirt off and hurled it at her roommate. She missed since it was such an irregular flimsy piece of clothing, and so rushed past Sunthraze in panties and blouse, picked the thing up and started beating Tempest with it.

"I hate you! You always do this to me, no matter where we go, no matter who I meet, even if it's a nice guy you couldn't possibly want, you take him away, you selfish … Bitch!"

Tempest struggled to put her cigarette out first before wrestling with Daphne. And while Sunthraze watched, the two women fought. Tempest was taller, stronger, but Daphne was ferocious. She dragged Tempest out of the bed by her short red hair, to this Tempest swore and kicked. Daphne went down, but she screamed and got Tempest by the wrists. They struggled and lashed about, Tempest trying to overpower the other woman but failing because Daphne was so angry. Clearly Tempest had experienced her roommate in this state before and knew how bad it could get… understood how bad it had already got. That fear disarmed the tank like nothing else. Daphne ended ontop in her underwear, blonde hair mussed. She moved to bite the fingers Tempest had clamped around her hand to prevent her from scratching…

"Should I… call someone?" Sunthraze covered his mouth.

A knock on the door that was already ajar. Pyorin slipped inside. "Sunthraze! What did you do this time?"

"I… they're fighting over me, I think?" but he was worried.

Pyorin charged in to break it up as their Commander, half-smiling, when suddenly Tempest sat up and hugged her friend.

"Sweetie… I'm so sorry."

Daphne saw what the apology was for and started to cry. "… my locket."

"I didn't mean to break it."

"I know you didn't. It's partly my fault too… and I didn't mean to either. It's just that I get so mad at you at times!" Daphne pushed out of Tempest's arms and stood, looking at the broken memento from her deceased ex-boyfriend, the would-be first.

"If it's the chain… I can maybe fix it since I'm a weaponsmith."

Daphne was quiet for a long moment. Sunthraze circled over to where Pyorin stood and also tried to appear invisible.

They watched Daphne rage, the brow furrow, and then she made the conscious decision to swallow her anger. Daphne wiped a tear from her eye and found a way to smile, "You can't fix it, Tempest. With those big stupid blacksmithing tools you've got. No, it's really been destroyed." She closed her eyes momentarily. "But that's alright. The way I've been acting lately… Maybe I'm even ready to move on, and that's what I got so angry about when I already knew you liked Sunthraze: missing my chance to start over. Nor should I have come barging in here like that."

Pyorin whispered for Sunthraze to tell him what happened. The sly man took that opportunity to brag. As he spoke, the two women became aware of how low they'd sunk and why.

"…Well, I had a date with the Virgin, then the Slut ambushed me… the elevator crashed, we came back here and had sex, then they started to pull out each other's hair. Haha!"

The door slammed again and both men were put out in the hallway.

"Oh, _and…_" Sunthraze finished up. "I'm also officially involved with your ex too. She's my girlfriend."

"The hell?"

"You'll see, over the next few days…"

Pyorin and Sunthraze walked on in uncomfortable silence. "Oh boy, this sounds serious… Do you love her?"

"…Yeah."

Pyorin fished his Darkmoon Faire cards out of his pocket and started shuffling.

"What's that all about…"

"Three years ago, to keep Fennore from killing me dead for sleeping with Mavia, I told his fortune. I laughed afterward, behind his back, because there was no way—or so I thought—that he and Mavia would end up together. And then I took my own fortune some time after that… My ex-girlfriend was to come back, and the love of my life… It's not clear which woman it is… here pick a card, any card."

Sunthraze thought it was weird, but shrugged, drew a card and showed it to his friend. Pyorin stopped walking altogether, had to sit on the floor.

"Buddy… you alright? It's not another Demon-lover style catastrophe is it?"

The vision was overwhelming.

_A dark room… white fangs… a weapon raised… the strong woman bound, screaming… blood, so much blood… the sun sets and rises too fast… bodies contorted, lunging, roaring…she looks up, pitiful through the haze of gray smoke…She trembles and begs for mercy, for him to stop… But this creature is incapable of ending, the shadowed manhood never wanes but flushes, stains red as her hair. The smell of sex and brimstone together so pungent. Ripe and good but also so wrong. The cards wail that Saturna suffered in this way, and what was the result of this? She was murdered. Sylvanas died in this way as well… A dark evil man coming for Tempest too… moaning in Demonic, impossible for her to understand how she is being tempted… That sick, lustful smile…His cruel conceit, such shameless unfettered indulgence would finally provoke the worst sort of monster, the best of its breed who waits to feast on lust, to sunder empires…The Olvi'athon._

Pyorin's fingers worked over the smoking green deck of cards while he looked at thick nothing. Sunthraze did not hear anything significant from the magical soulless wail a full deck of Darkmoon Faire cards usually possessed, but his friend's hands kept going, telling the fortune, reading things to come. The tank's fingers shuffled, compulsively, not able to stop. Finally, Sunthraze reached down and made Pyorin calm.

"Hey, Tankalicious." Sunthraze snapped before the other man's eyes. "If you're so terrified that I'm going to steal one of your girlfriends… just say so. Hey! Hey, buddy, wake up."

"I… sorry, here's your card."

"That's not my card. I had a Three of Vengeance. What does it mean, Pyorin?" When the unsettled tank refused to say any more, Sunthraze helped him to his feet and started walking again. "Well, fine we won't talk about your stupid cards. But you have to admit, that was hot what happened back there, wasn't it? Both Daphne and Tempest fighting in their underwear. That's just…" he let out a low whistle. "Never had women fighting over me before, and I got myself a girlfriend out of it too. This day couldn't be more perfect." He frowned. "It nearly almost makes up for that asinine Fennore trying to kill me with his succubus. Pyorin?"

"Hey, do you know a guy named Olvi'athon? It seems like maybe… Uh, that is he might… You and Tempest had better be careful because—"

"No, why would I? That sounds like some sort of creepy ancient Highborne… arcane language."

"Well, could you at least tone down all your baiting people then? I've got a bad feeling… it's gonna' ruin you Sunthraze. The cards say you have to change your ways or else a monster—"

"What? Are you telling me to behave? Pyorin you are _not _my mother, and besides, that my mouth could one day get me into awful trouble is sort of something I'm already well aware of. But it hasn't caught up with me yet, has it? Thanks for such a clairvoyant reading of my future. Some fortune-teller you are."

"Okay then, look, here's the thing. Could you… not date Tempest?"

"Oh no, it's too late for that man. I gave you your chance, you said it was alright. And I feel for her. I can't just drop it now; and I fought for this Pyorin, really _fought_ to have her. Besides, that's just greedy and you know it. You don't care about her, not like I do, that's what you said the other day."

Pyorin looked at Sunthraze sideways. "But I… she's my best friend." He started to breathe rapidly and shut his eyes against the panicky feeling returning. "Just… can you just let her be, alright? I can't have you running around on her. Things can't keep going the way they are or else—"

"I get what's going on. After seeing her like that… you want to sleep with her again. It's what you did in the army, then while in Undermine. You're addicted to Tempest, aren't you? Well, I'm not going to let you use her and break her heart again, do you hear me Pyorin? And if you're worried at all, that I'll hurt _her_ or something, then don't. I am not going to mess up where you did. Come on, I thought we were friends. Don't you trust me?"

"It's not about that! Look, the two of you together is a bad idea, really bad. Especially if you refuse to get your act together Sunthraze. It is not going to go well, and it isn't safe for Tempest either."

The redhead crossed his arms, stood firm. "I _will_ fight you Pyorin. I would beat your ass over this. Is that what you want? Because as far as I can tell, this is selfish and pointless of you, to try and have every woman for yourself. I don't see that you're giving up Daphne either. Pyorin, I know what's going on here and I'm not going to let you step on my toes. I let you do that with Saturna… And who knows how it could've gone differently if we—"

"There never was a you and Saturna, Sunthraze!"

"Same thing with you and Tempest. Don't go asking me to give up a woman that I want again. I'm not taking any instruction from you off the battlefield this time around, not when I see how you really are. Got it?"

Pyorin shuffled his cards while Sunthraze strutted away. How could he tell his friend that he'd seen it all in the cards? No, the cards did not tell the whole truth, but they never lied either. And three years ago Pyorin only sat back and watched while Fennore became obsessed and then succeeded in getting completely lost in Mavia. And now no one in the Nexus knew what to think of Fennore, with that Demon woman and the Void Reaver and his bruised finger. The cards seemed to believe this thing with Tempest and The Olvi'athon was going to turn out far worse. Sunthraze was the key to preventing everything but it just didn't look like he had any intention of reforming…

What would happen to Sunthraze or Tempest if Pyorin did nothing in this situation as well? If Sunthraze wasn't going to clean up his act, then those two could not be allowed to stay together, for the good of the Nexus. Pyorin rationalized it to himself that way, this need to protect his ex-girlfriend, the painful resurgence of jealousy… No, it wasn't that. He just couldn't stand the thought of more tragedy, that was all, wasn't it? Another schism in their group could be deadly and he had to prevent it at all costs. Pyorin closed his eyes, and shuffled some more.

Pyorin told himself it was the cards making him feel this way. But then that was even more unsettling that the cards should have such power over his emotions. Was the fortune-telling really a forecast of what was to come, or was he simply falling onto his over-used deck like a crutch to quell the panic, the fear that he'd lost everything, again. Like back in Undermine…

"I will not lose another friend to the flame. Not one more… not when they need me. First Sylvanas then Saturna… and I've already let Fennore down. Who knows what bloody conflict that will bring to the Nexus? Another betrayal perhaps, another death… Now I am the Commander. This time I'm the hero, I _have_ to be…" Pyorin mumbled to himself, fingers flipping the tattered paper in a panic, "I'm the hero… I'm the hero…"

The cards nearly teased Pyorin with the powerful telling he evoked now. _The Olvi'athon is someone you already know, or do you? Not if you refuse to see… who has sown distrust among your ranks from the start._


	18. Attack of the Olvi'athon, Part One

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Seventeen: Attack of the Olvi'athon, part I: Defining the Monster**

Pyorin cringed at the voices he heard just beyond Lady Liadrin's door. The Bloodknight Matriarch pleaded, nearly submissive, mostly pathetic at this time of night. General Blaize seemed to announce his romantic intentions in brusque, overconfident rapports. With everything already on his mind, Pyorin did not want to knock and confirm what his imagination, so tired he was that he feared he was already dreaming, or worse not… the leader of the Nexus on bended knee, begging for the General's favor. Blaize strutting about, naked below the torso. Waving a pointed finger until his smile went sour, having at last reached the point where the woman was bent beyond unbending, turning swiftly on heels to face the prostrate Liadrin, the simple favor he wanted from her painfully obvious now. It's what any man would want in exchange for his entire life's work, the Prince's royal army itself, the object and the crude means now at her eye level… But that was just a vibe Pyorin was always getting from them, just his overactive imagination. Right?

"Come in."

Pyorin had his face all screwed up for what he imagined old-people sex was like. But Blaize sat fully armored and sulking at Liadrin's round table, a half-finished goblet of wine just at his red plate elbow. The lights weren't low. The walls and ceiling were as white as a page and Blaize didn't look very happy for it. In fact, Pyorin felt he recognized that sort of dissatisfied vacant look. For a General, Blaize sat very irresponsibly, the only other chair—most certainly Liadrin's—tilted back on two legs where he pulled with the free hand, finished upsetting it with the heel of a polished red metal greave jammed onto the open seat-back. Blaize's boots were never dirty, though it looked like he came directly over to his woman's room after a long day of General-ing.

Pyorin didn't salute Blaize. Blaize glared at Pyorin. Lady Liadrin pretended not to be missing the chair her lover kept at bay while she insisted on talking, just _talking_ at this hour.

"I'd offer you a seat Blooknight, but as you can see I'm trying to move things along here."

"Oh Nate! Stop it."

He covered his eyes briefly and yawned, big. What other clever chauvinist retort Blaize had ready was lost.

"Pyorin, what brings you here? I hope there isn't any sort of… emergency?" And the pause intimated that Liadrin would throw Blaize out at the slightest possibility that it was Nexus-talk.

"Well… it doesn't involve Kael'thas if that's what you're wondering. I'm more concerned about, err… the deportment of some of the Bloodknights under my command."

This was normally the part where Blaize made his excuse to leave. He hated all Bloodknights and their doings with a passion these days, which sort of made one wonder how loyal he really was to Lady Liadrin. But Blaize dragged the chair closer, so that it made a noise, and ontop of that, it was tangled in his excellent toned limbs.

"We're not doing this again tonight, Liadrin."

She waved him off. Pyorin, though he was worried about the Olvi'athon, figured out the problem right away and tried not to laugh at them.

"If you all… need to—"

"Shut up, Pyorin." Blaize grunted, and stared at the wall.

"I don't take orders from you—"

"Shut up, Bloodknight." Liadrin put hands on her hips, went and yanked the only free chair away from Blaize and asked Pyorin to sit. Then, "Yes, let's take our _time_ and talk it aaall out, hmm? With me, the business of Quel'thalas always comes first."

"You act like Sorn, but yet you aren't paid to go yipping around at Kael'thas' heels."

"You act as if you were starving to death." Liadrin spat back. "Especially when you're more than welcome to take up with other, younger, fluff-headed women if my righteous focus displeases you."

But the tone she used was that of a condemning priestess, bitter for having been cloistered the majority of her life. Liadrin wasn't calling Blaize a lecherous sinner but he frowned, just as kicked, and turned to his wine glass.

"Alright so this is going to sound very strange, but I did a telling earlier today—"

"Oh, Pyorin… I've warned you about those pagan rituals… they aren't founded in true religious science regarding the Light, you're bound to be misled. Or more correctly, led exactly along the whims of fantastic imaginings, like a cow with a ring in its nose."

"Psh, a cow can't lead itself, Liadrin. And Tauren are all shamans aren't they? Believe in the elements or what not… And it's all magic at the end of the day. It's sort of admirable." Blaize was already a bit drunk, but he was better at hiding it than most people.

Pyorin only noticed this because Lady Liadrin ignored him, something she rarely did to people with so much power. "Now if you've got some prediction from your Darkmoon Faire cards which I've already counseled you against gambling with Pyorin, and certainly not telling people's future with, then you've only spooked yourself and deserved it, at that."

"But they foretold Fennore and Mavia getting together… did you see the ring-scar on his finger, Matriarch? Well, that is exactly what I saw three whole years ago, from the cards!"

"He's _married_ to a Demon woman? That's insane!" another gulp of wine, "Say there, woman-Tank, tell my fortune, why don't you?" and slapped gold on the table.

Liadrin rubbed the bridge of her nose. Pyorin glared at Blaize. "What did you just call me, you fat, arrogant—"

"Gentlemen, please! And nevermind him, Pyorin. Nate is just bitter that he's tangled himself up in a sort of arrangement with a professional-minded woman and can't enjoy flitting about like you do, someone almost fifteen years his younger." An accusing eyebrow sent up at the berated man.

"Olvi'athon. That is the name that fortune-telling gave me. The cards said the Olvi'athon is someone I know very well, and definitely a man. He's going to… well, let's say _attack_ one of the Bloodknights. And he's also been causing trouble for us since the start."

Blaize burped, didn't excuse himself. "Sounds like Kael'thas."

"Oh stop it already." Liadrin rolled her eyes at Blaize. "Everyone you dislike seems to be like Kael'thas, and that's simply unfair." She tapped her chin, paced. "Pyorin, normally I'd dismiss such a pagan forecasting… but that word, Olvi'athon, is very familiar."

"Derogatory even." Blaize put in. Liadrin was agreeing with him until, "Again, that said, it's Kael'thas."

She sighed, "No… that's only because his name is also hyphenated and an old word… the accent is a third syllable actually, a breath of awe, it carries power. Take Dath'remar for example… another name for an important royal person. Both from the ancient language. This one is very bad though, if I remember my history."

Blaize reached under the table, came back with a thick book. Pyorin struggled to read the title while the groggy old redhead licked a thumb and flipped pages… something about martial law. "Well it sounds like our plotting to lawfully mutiny right in front of Kael'thas' face won't be a wasted effort afterall, Liadrin. And I didn't drag my rare law books over here for no reason, just to be ignored… Like my other charms…" and he scowled very unhandsomely.

Pyorin really wished he hadn't walked in on whatever kind of evening this was supposed to be. And then he simultaneously realized exactly what the Bloodknight Matriarch was doing with General Blaize, that she didn't want the others to know about. It was a lot less polite then he assumed her capable of, exactly what he imagined at the start.

"Matriarch!" Pyorin gasped suddenly.

"What?" and she looked over a shoulder as if a horrific phantasm were just behind her.

"Are you… you know, with him just for political favors?"

She turned red.

"Aha! Olvi'athon. I knew that I'd heard it before, the worst kind of offensive name… not even a name really but a title, man-specific, but for a crime."

Liadrin recovered enough to snatch the book away, when Blaize was making absolutely no sense in his state. "Oh my. Well, I'll read it exactly as it's written, and you can use your imagination Pyorin: 'The man who perpetrates a carnal act, most indecent, with a woman who is not his own, most often a wife, and then turns on the man to whom she first belonged and commits in measure of violence equal to the salacious offense, a similar defilement, shall be branded, by the highest order of the land, an Olvi'athon. Thus named, all in the kingdom will hear and be warned of his presence, can safeguard their wives and daughters. However, if any man, having been thus forewarned, encourages the wrath of a criminal with such a heinous fetish for flesh, the perpetrated shall suffer under the weight of his own misdeeds alone. For, the State cannot be held accountable for immoral acts of common citizens, not even Olvi'athons, nor Adulterers. Imprisonment of moral criminals was outlawed in the year 27 by Highborne Queen Azshara and her court, before the coronation of our great and first King Dath'remar since the banishment…'" Liadrin finished up, "Well it goes on into an historical account of the code itself from there… but what the word means, should be clear enough by now Pyorin."

He was sure he'd missed it. "A… man with some kind of creepy fetish?"

"It's Kael'thas."

"Nate, please let that thing with Saturna go."

"An Olvi'athon steals wives, and then brutalizes husbands because of some sick addiction to violence or sex or power, or whatever… he did try to set me on fire, you know. I'm telling you, IT'S KAEL'THAS!"

"The literal definition does not specify that the crime is perpetrated against a married woman, per se, just a taken woman. But even then, if the first part of your drunken summation is correct, then I don't see that the second part of the crime fits. Nate, you are not damaged in that department." Then she turned spiteful. "Or, rather… if you please, we can do things your way, scrap this important meeting in favor of pointless sex and effectively prove that you're right. When we start-stop the way we always do, and you turn up broken."

Pyorin instantly announced that he'd overstayed his welcome, got up to leave.

Over loud grumbling that Blaize didn't realize wasn't entirely under his breath, as drunk as he was, Liadrin nearly shouted, "I'm sorry for that Pyorin, really I am. But it's good that you dropped by, actually. Blaize and I were discussing a possible mission for you all…" she had to raise her voice even louder then, "Tempest has a map… I want you to gather the others and work out a strategy for taking out the remaining Burning Legion camps in Netherstorm. There is no legal way for the army to do it without disobeying Kael'thas, you see. Blaize is having a hard enough time controlling the soldiers the way they are, so demoralized for the Prince's orders to simply ignore the Burning Legion presence in Netherstorm."

Blaize had slammed his drink down, got up to herd Pyorin out of the room. The Tank went laughing. All the hitches in the disturbing arrangement between Lady Liadrin and General Blaize intersected for him then. It wasn't what he first assumed about the proud Matriarch giving in to get Blaize's assistance with the royal army, but the opposite. When Blaize failed… where convincing the army to get Kael'thas to return to Silvermoon was concerned, Liadrin held out on him. And that was awful for a man who was already bound by honor, pride, political motivations, and certainly lust, to one woman who held all the keys to his future. At least that is how Blaize acted, intoxicated as he was, clearly as needy and pathetic as most spurned men, with the old guard let down.

"Yes Matriarch." Pyorin saluted. "Your will be done." Then he couldn't help, where only Blaize could hear in the doorway, "Or not done…"

The ensuing slam echoed over raucous peals of Pyorin's laughter, as he walked back to his own room.

_Later that night…_

Pyorin had known better than to do a telling before bed, but reading the cards had long been a nasty habit of his. It caused old fears and new to resurface together, the Bloodknight tank struggled to manage them all at once, and on his own. And not for the first time, either…

_Rip. _

_Such a simple word and sound, but that is always how it came back to Pyorin. The violation was fast but that did not make it any less cruel. That such a beautiful life as his Commander's could be taken so fast, the Light in her being searing hot but gone in a puff of Nether smoke, like a cheap magic trick. And Prince Arthas had done it, smiling wickedly, balancing with inhuman grace up on the balustrade of the ruined Ranger fortress. Frostmourne raised over the Human Prince's head like a magician's wand, the other hand out, fingers waggling above the pale abdomen of her corpse. Sylvanas slain gracefully over that same stone railing, a lone arm reached out to command them in her final breath._

_Pyorin remembered that was how Arthas looked. Like a fool. Like a madman. A Human of royal birth, with real, serious power but acting with callous disregard for mortal life. Merely playing at death and destruction. The kind that could level a kingdom, unleash a plague of Undeath…but when Arthas took Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner by the soul, and in a magical sense, yanked the chain around as if she were some disobedient dog, Arthas was laughing at all of them. _

"_Go on, gather around, you feckless warriors, you betrayers of Lordaeron in her time of need. Would you like to see if I'll have mercy on you after your King turned his back, and his joke of a son hardly any better at ascertaining the true threat of the Scourge? When I was right there in Dalaran, doing this same dance in his face! Bloodmage, pah! Kirin Tor, pah! Silver Hand, haha! Double pah! Bah humbug and every inane curse upon their graying heads! Yesssss come closer little elves, still closer…See what judgment this paladin has for you and your precious Ranger-General, for thwarting me and mine so long."_

_Closer, closer… the others drifted forward, caught in the lullaby of his vile conjuring. Tempted into looking at the horror of what once was their beloved Commander and what she was now becoming. Pyorin was nearly there, another step or more and he could have seen the liquid glisten of the very whites of Arthas' cold eyes…_

_But someone put a firm hand on his shoulder, repeated the Ranger-General's final order._

"_Soldier! She said pull back, retreat!" Tempest yelled directly into Pyorin's ear then. He remembered. _

_These hands had grabbed him before, in the throes of passion, the fingernails dug in, she moaning hungrily and pleading. Pyorin remembered that lust for her surging up in that moment was enough, inappropriate and enough, for him to be distracted, for him to snap out of the soul-chilling spell of Prince Arthas who later became the Lich King… But they did not know it then. They only saw the amazing mysterious power he wielded, craved it with a hunger they did not yet know was an addiction, went to watch while Arthas used the magic of his sword Frostmourne and their souls together undo their Commander Sylvanas._

_The piercing wail that resounded through the rotting forest was that of Saturna this time. Pyorin had not seen her die… but on that day three years ago, he felt he heard it, was sure that he heard it as clearly as he had heard Sylvanas Windrunner rent in two, made a banshee. The black power of what his sword stole from and then unleashed on the unsuspecting onlookers spread out in a miasma that only the ones who heeded their Commander's final order escaped in time._

_Arthas both loved and hated what he did to Sylvanas, the tortured mindless eye-witnesses that straggled back to camp said much later. Like an Olvi'athon. A man who consumes women and obliterates their men, out of blind passion, a twisted indulgence in power…like Demons who lust for sex and violence at once. So confusing, that the word they used then to describe Arthas' unholy conjuring should apply now…which was Pyorin's memory, and which was the cards merely calling to him?_

"_One day we'll be Commanders," Tempest tried to smile for him then. "And we can prevent this from happening again. Never," and she stabbed her dagger into the gray soil. "Ever," then her axe, "Again!" the last was the bow she broke over her knee, screamed and cried with rage, and sank down at his side. Among the rubble and the fires, that tangible failure, Pyorin remembered promising Tempest that he would not let anything like that happen to her. She was his friend, his best friend and he loved her._

"_Don't worry Lucia. I'm the hero. I'm the hero…"_

Pyorin sat up in bed, sweaty hand clutching a fistful of smoking green cards. Could Sunthraze be trusted with his friend's life? After Sylvanas, and then Saturna… the Olvi'athon coming back, confusing him… It was the same problem, really. But the answer was to separate them, break them up… Pyorin wasn't sure who or what he meant to separate, as haggard as he felt. Just that it needed to be done, and he was the one to do it. The cards told him so.

"I'm the hero."

Pyorin got right up in the middle of the night then, and ran off to fix things.

Pyorin already suspected that Tempest would be in her leather outfit, it was her way. It was about that time in the entrapment, or relationship, or whatever she convinced Sunthraze to call it. And when he looked down at her, he wasn't ashamed of the memories they once shared together. He disregarded the pain, willed himself to remember… the good was also bad, not so ugly. How could it be when this woman saved his life all those years ago?

"Oh… well I didn't expect you, sweetie." Tempest flirted though she wasn't supposed to. "Daphne's sort of not here…"

"I didn't come here for Daphne, Tempest." Pyorin looked down the length of her, in the robe she hadn't completely closed on purpose. Tempest never really ever belonged to anyone. She let him. And he let himself feel jealous at last… how he hated Sunthraze for having her when he couldn't. And she was so easy, so loving when you let her be. Tempest knew what to do with a man. The leather bodice creaked when she rested a hand on her hip. The cleavage lush, and wrong. The woman was into dangerous sex. Of course an Olvi'athon would be tempted to take advantage of that and use her, tempted to come closer. Tempest twirled out of his reach, talking about how she was late for her first official date with Mister Sly, and wasn't she going to knock his socks off, as soon as she was done dressing. But as the woman flitted about the room, finding earrings to put on, dark lipstick to go with the sultry black eyeshadow… she couldn't be more _done._

"Well, if you're not here for Daphne, I'm not sure why you're here then? Heheh… Now lookit Pyorin, here's my good chain. You remember it, don't you? I'm really going to scare the living daylights out of him, Tankalicious. I bet you can't wait to tease him over it later. Well you can see what fun toys I'm bringing, to make it even easier" and she bent over to put whip, chains, and some other ungodly toys into a satchel. "Make mental notes so we can really rip into him later. You know how Sunthraze does, with his cute boasting, acting like he's king of the entire world, that short little know-it-all. But don't feel slighted," she joked cruelly, "You're my best friend but he's just the newer, younger model. And far more clever."

Pyorin took deep, angry breaths then turned and slammed the door shut with one panicked swat of his hand.

"The newer model?" he was hurt. "Smarter, younger. That's what you just said. You don't need me anymore." He struggled with this next part. "But what about Undermine Tempest? I needed you then…"

"Pyorin, I'm just teasing you. Geez, you're a big built-like-a-bull tank. I didn't think you'd take it _that_ hard. And you've already made it clear that you don't need me anymore." She sounded sad, "That's why you left my ass in Undermine, alone with crazy Goldenbolts. So I moved on. I am going to make sure that we have fun tonight. This is me starting over with my wittle Shortstuff. Aren't you proud of me?"

"So it's 'we' now, is it? You and Sunthraze are a couple, and you don't want your friend anymore?" Unlike lots of other men, Pyorin was strong enough to pick Tempest up and put the abrasive woman exactly where he wanted, so he did. He dropped her onto the mattress of the lower bunk, kissed her angrily.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Just… I don't know. But you can't be with him. Be with me instead, _please_…"

Tempest sat up, leaned into him and his kisses. "No… this is so wrong but… Do you want to get back together, sweetheart?" she used a very gentle voice with him. Pyorin ached for it, unexpectedly. "Is that it? If you still care about me after everything, I'd move heaven and earth to have you again, sweetie."

"Yeah, something like that." Pyorin lied. For the Nexus, for himself, to keep the Olvi'athon at bay, he didn't know anymore. He didn't care.

Pyorin forgot about honor, duty, and his so-called friends. He pulled aside the leather thong she wore, opened his pants and they had desperate sex, after so long.

"Oh Pyorin… I love you. After all these years I still do."

He did not love her back, not in the way she meant. So Pyorin kept going until he was satisfied, said nothing at all.

It stung, and Tempest let him know that later on, when they finished. She stared straight up, at the bunk above hers, spoke nervously. "Well, I told Sunthraze I couldn't be exclusive. He will be crushed but… I do love you, Pyorin. I'm glad we're back together again."

Pyorin, breathing evenly once more, worked to find his voice. "About that… you shouldn't tell him. Just you know, break up with him and we can—"

Tempest turned to face Pyorin. "Oh no, not this speech again… I can't BELIEVE you!"

Pyorin covered his face. "I'm sorry, alright. I had a moment of weakness. It's hard to explain but with the cards and my nightmares and all, and the Olvi'athon coming… I couldn't help it. Just trust me on this."

"Cards? Nightmares? The hell! You can always help it, Pyorin! If you can help yourself not to jump on Daphne… Ugh! Why did I think that you would ever change, for me? So what was this, to get back at me for the comment I made earlier? Or maybe you secretly hate your friend Sunthraze for his antics, but attacking an inferior makes you look bad. Prince and Country would be shamed then, wouldn't they? Under that strange hero-complex you have going. But for some reason, having sex with another soldier in your regiment, breaking her heart behind closed doors so that she'll feel awful and break up with the man you loathe is perfectly alright! Is that how you're going to justify it this time around?"

Pyorin tried to explain once more, but Tempest began to do something that pushed him over the edge.

"Are you getting dressed again! You can't be doing what I think you are…"

"Do you think one stupid mistake with you is going to change my whole life, again? I have something—I don't know what the hell it is—with a wonderful man who appreciates me for who I am, and I am going to honor it. And he's probably worried, waiting by now…"

"You're just going to hop into bed with him, after me? Tempest—"

"Oh, trust me, I won't be hopping. This isn't exactly a joyful moment. And you'd better hope to the Sun that you don't mean what I think you do, that it was your intention to break Sunthraze and I up in the first place." She finished getting her things on and walked angrily to the door. "When you're done growing up and getting over yourself Pyorin, you can find your own way out!" She glanced overhead. "See you later, Daphne."

And Pyorin thought it couldn't get any worse.

"Daphne? You aren't really in here, are you… Tempest is messing with my head, isn't she?"

There was a long pause, but then the timid woman made herself known. "I went to bed early… I told her to turn away any company. That is why she tried to tell you I wasn't here. I swear, I wasn't eavesdropping. I thought I'd just sleep through most of it. I haven't been feeling well lately and wanted to rest…"

Pyorin rolled over and buried his face in the pillows. "What in the hell is WRONG with me?!"

The whole bunk bed creaked as Daphne climbed down the side. She hopped to the floor and walked around the bed to stand in front of Pyorin. He looked up and winced. She was only wearing a night shirt.

"Daphs, you've gotta let me explain. I… I just wanted to—"

She put a finger to her lips and blinked back tears. "It's done. I already have all the explanation I need about you Commander. Now I know what all the flirting, the stolen kisses…"

"Please, no—"

"The _lies_ have been about. Please don't lead me on anymore. Don't pretend to care about me. You aren't really capable of treating another mortal being decently, are you?"

Pyorin felt the pang of two realizations at once. Daphne did know he had feelings for her, and simultaneously, he'd just ruined the secret chance she was giving him, to prove everyone else wrong.

He sat up. Daphne flinched a little at his nakedness and gave him room to get dressed. This he did quietly while she watched. Pyorin didn't feel the sort of shame he dreamed of experiencing in her presence, the humility of showing her his body, of sharing himself with her for the first time. Her first time, theirs.

At the door, Daphne tugged on his arm. Her eyes were wet.

"You aren't even going to apologize? Or explain?"

"I already did, Daphs, to Tempest. It wasn't enough."

She shook her head at him. "What is _wrong_ with you? Why would you come in here like this and hurt so many people at once? You did this all on purpose, didn't you? And Sunthraze could have come knocking when Tempest didn't show up for their date. Did you want him to see that?"

"I never meant for you to find out and get hurt." This was the best he could do.

Daphne called him on it. "You are supposed to be our Commander. You are supposed to guide and protect us. What you've done could break our ranks like nothing else, destroy the entire Nexus with Fennore already so far gone, and Sunthraze hating Kael'thas… now you're going to yank the last friends he has away from him? Over what, sex? And with her?" she left off saying what may have sounded so desperate right then, after the fact. That she wished Pyorin had picked her, not Tempest.

Pyorin got a strange distant look in his eye then. It looked to Daphne like he was frozen, remembering… Then Pyorin flinched and let himself out. So startled that she didn't consider her nightshirt, Daphne leaned out into the hallway and watched him go. Something was terribly wrong with Pyorin.

"I'm so sorry, Daphne. I… have to go… back to sleep. Though I don't think I will be able to."

Daphne tried to hate Pyorin after he left but couldn't. She thought of everything she knew about him, combined with snatches of what he'd confessed to Tempest, and finally that look… Regardless of what he had just done to his friends, Pyorin could not be left alone tonight.

This was not deviant behavior on his part, but a symptom of something far worse…

"And then to top it off the cards and the nightmares he raved about, there's that Olvi'athon thing Pyorin mentioned. I think I know what that means…" then Daphne cupped hands over her mouth. "No! Pyorin wouldn't… but it makes too much sense. Years ago he was with Tempest and he practically ruins her for other men. Then again in Undermine and now here in Tempest Keep." She sat on the floor, right in the open doorway.

"What if that is the sort of man Pyorin is? Tortured by nightmares, and by this sick lust. And somehow, I've fallen for him." And Daphne clutched hands about her throat, a knee-jerk reaction to the terrifying truth. If she recalled her ancient history, the mythology behind the Olvi'athon… She gasped in wide, doe-eyed innocence.

The virgin always came next.


	19. The Sleepover, Part One

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Eighteen: The Sleepover, Part I**

It wasn't that the Olvi'athon always attacked the virgins next, as Daphne knew all too well. The virgins, breathy and curious like long-dead cats, went to him, more than willing to their doom.

And now here she was, standing outside of Pyorin's bedroom door. Daphne knew it was wrong, felt she knew better. But could not resist when she sensed Pyorin also needed her help for a more dangerous reason. If he was playing around with his cards, having nightmares about Sylvanas Windrunner….

And then all that Olvi'athon talk, that was just a story, wasn't it? Based upon old Highborne law codes… or were the ancient laws themselves based on an actual monster of olde, and she merely making an excuse for herself to…

"Ho boy." And Daphne knocked.

Pyorin wore a pair of pants that were hastily drawn on. His eyes were bloodshot. Pyorin ran a hand through his messy short hair, and mumbled something like, 'Come in.'

Daphne stood in the middle of the floor, Pyorin didn't have much furniture or personal belongings, like a real soldier. But they weren't Rangers anymore. The war with the Scourge was long over, but he was still living like it. This was an even worse sign than the card-telling, the nightmares, and now the bloodshot eyes. Daphne crossed her arms and waited till he shut the door.

"How long have you been having flashbacks?"

Pyorin flinched. "I don't…"

"Do you have nightmares about the Scourge attacking Quel'thalas or don't you? I've noticed that you're very good at hiding your real feelings, Pyorin, like coming onto my friend like that earlier. It was incredibly left field, until I thought it through." To further sleepy denial, she firmly insisted, "Why did you run away—that is _defect_—from the Thalassian military, an institution that you have tremendous respect for, after the war?"

Pyorin floundered. "We lost… the defeat was unbearable."

"We won. Is Silvermoon leveled? Are we without a country, a future? No, the Prince of Quel'thalas even came back to set things right, for a time. Our lands were protected somewhat, even then. Arthas had retreated, no matter the reason… surely you were aware of that."

"Look! I couldn't handle it okay? Undermine was safe, it was warm. The Goblins have always been neutral, they don't judge… no one bothered me there."

Daphne was momentarily distracted by Pyorin in his standard issue white nightclothes, and with Tempest and everything else going on it was frustrating to be thrown off so easily. If only she'd been like this with a man before, maybe this wouldn't be so difficult! "Correction." Daphne had to squeeze her eyes shut. "You could pretend not to be a soldier in Undermine. Let me ask you something else, Pyorin. Why did you enjoy learning the Darkmoon Faire cards so much? Even now, it's like you obsess over them. You're always counting them, shuffling… you think no one notices, but you do your own tarot reading each day after Morning Inspection. It's almost compulsive."

"It… keeps my mind off of things."

"It gives you a sense of security. It makes you feel like you are in control. Why do you need to feel like you are in control, Pyorin?" Though Daphne feared she would lose all her control if Pyorin strayed any closer the lamp on his bedside table or the bed for that matter. What was he wearing underneath? Wasn't he wearing anything underneath?!

Pyorin sat down on the bed, exasperated, and Daphne had to take a breath. "I don't know! But clearly you do! Brilliant Daphne, she's so smart she knows everything, all the time."

It felt like a compliment though he was angry with her. Daphne watched Pyorin splay his legs and lean back on elbows. His whole body opened to her, and she could nearly see his nakedness. It was hard not to look between his thighs, she was so curious. She heard that when men… could she make him… and then see it rise? Daphne made herself look away then. Oh, why had she truly come? Did she really forgive Tempest for sleeping with the man she wanted this fast? Or… maybe it didn't really bother her? Daphne startled at that thought. Afterall, she'd been listening to Pyorin having sex with another woman only a little while ago. She could have made herself known, put a stop to it then. Had she actually liked listening to the Olvi'athon do his work? His dirty, dirty, work with a woman? Daphne suddenly recalled Pyorin's manly grunts, that stolen glance down from the top bunk… the dimpled butt riding her friend, the confident rhythm he never broke. Could one be an expert at sex? If so then, Pyorin certainly was. He'd done it many times before, she could tell. He was good. It was all Daphne could do not to climb down and join him, and Tempest like before… Oh, that bitch Tempest!

Daphne cleared her throat. "And then Tempest is the last piece of the puzzle. While you were in Undermine, hiding, she somehow found you, didn't she? Your ex-girlfriend, the dangerous woman, lady luck herself showed up across from you at your card table. Wearing a sparkling red dress, smoking expensive cigarettes, drinking gin… that's the way she always told it to me. And at lunch that time, you smiled when you recalled it, I remember. I got jealous." Daphne sighed, bitter at the revelation. "I thought of how pretty Tempest must have been to you, two Blood Elves and what else alone in Undermine together… of course you were sleeping with her then. Of course… but it wasn't really about the sex, Pyorin. It wasn't about romance either, because just a little while ago I heard you tell my best friend that you didn't truly care about her. You just wanted to get Tempest away from Sunthraze, am I right? So you could start sleeping with her again, guilt-free."

Daphne projected her voice when Pyorin didn't look like he was listening. "Tempest has always been there for you, in the army, in Undermine, as a Nexite… but now, she's finally getting over you. And at the same time, you're falling apart. But she doesn't know, does she Pyorin? Just how much you need her, for other reasons? And that would make you look like a fool at last after all these years, because you've really been the one chasing Tempest. Just like tonight, you kept slipping up and encouraging her while you were in Undermine, and then later when she first joined the Blood Nexus. Tempest isn't stalking you, you've been stringing her along! Using your best friend over and over for sex when it's convenient for you, the way your card shuffling got bad too all of a sudden… All to survive flashbacks of the war!"

Daphne could have been reading his mind, and Pyorin told her so. He bowed his head and gave in at last.

Pyorin sat up and rubbed an eye. "I saw Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner get killed and turned into a banshee on the battlefield years ago. It was the most horrible experience of my life. I couldn't stop seeing it, I became useless as a soldier. Even after I ran… the nightmares stopped when Tempest showed up in Undermine and started spending time with me. That and the cards. Busying my mind with them keeps me from dwelling on it too long. And sleeping with Tempest… it's like some kind of medicine. She can be very good to a man you know, loyal. And she never cheated on me, would have done anything for me and did… oh we had schemes against the Goblins, I got her involved in all sorts of hair-brained things I was doing during that mean streak of mine. So you see, after Tempest and I hooked up again it got better. It was like we picked up where we left off, like back when we were soldiers and dating each other. Sylvanas was whole, back then and things were just fine. All we had to worry about was the Amani Trolls and they were getting beat back up into the hills. We didn't even know about the Scourge yet. It was perfect, you could be proud to be a Ranger back then. Daphne, you would have loved it."

His quick smile faded. "It was like old times, and the nightmares finally went away. That was the first time I forgot and felt good again. But it didn't change the fact that I was leading Tempest on, Daphne, and I eventually got around dealing with that too. It was awful, and I was so ashamed… I just up and left Undermine when I was finally back on my feet and was sure I wouldn't need Tempest anymore. It was mean to do, to ditch the person who'd become my closest friend like that, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to lead a normal life again, and that meant I had to leave all my crutches behind: the cards, the fast life, the women." To Daphne's disappointed frown, "Yeah… I didn't mean for that to slip out, that there were other women while I was with Tempest. She didn't exactly know, though she was faithful to me. Okay, so she was cheating on her Goblin mob-boss boyfriend Goldenbolts to sneak around with me, but it was like I was her real man. Goldenbolts was the—"

"Sugar daddy, I know. Tempest has told me all these annoying stories already. But, Pyorin, I want to know how you could just leave her like that. It wasn't right. She thought that maybe Goldenbolts found out and put a hit on you, rolled your body off a fishing boat into the South Seas, like those mobsters do with everyone… She actually mourned your death, did you know that! Having flashbacks is no excuse to be a jerk!"

"Look, I couldn't tell Tempest what was wrong with me, Daphne. I couldn't stand for her to see how weak and pathetic I really was. I guess I figured that… if Tempest thought I ran out on her and she hated me, then that would be easier. But after I became a full Bloodknight months later and ran into her back in Silvermoon—because she was training to be one too—Tempest didn't hate me. She told me that she forgave me, and was relieved that I was alright. She told me… that she still loved me. Well, after that we were cool for a while, especially after Liadrin asked me to recruit someone into the Nexus. Tempest was more than happy to sign up and help me out, again. But it was still weird, you know? I didn't feel the same way about Tempest, I wouldn't have sacrificed like that for her, and joining the Nexus is a huge sacrifice. It was too much, and all that blind faith in me started to get creepy. When Lady Liadrin offered me a chance to go with just Saturna, Sunthraze, and Fennore to Outland on a mission save Kael'thas, I jumped at it."

Pyorin was quiet for a long time, because he knew how that sounded. "But I was wrong. I should have never abandoned Tempest. The images of what Arthas did to Sylvanas were always in my mind, waiting way in the back to ruin me when I got weak again. And guess what Daphne? Saturna died on that mission. It all started again, that nightmare hell. The flashbacks were worse than ever. Three years ago, Saturna also died, like Sylvanas, because I wasn't there for her. I had a choice, I could have followed orders to the letter and waited for Saturna to make the call regarding Kael'thas, or run in and sacrifice myself for her, to somehow make the pain less… at the least, _something_! But what I chose to do at that time was worse than the first incident, Daphne. I… mutinied. Sunthraze and I saw how close Saturna was getting to Kael'thas, that she was hopelessly biased against the Nexus, and we chose to disobey her and do whatever we felt like. The plan was for me and Sunthraze to just walk out of there and leave her in the mess she made, as soon as the Shatari siege on the Black Temple was over. Fennore didn't want to go, but we wouldn't listen to him. Sunthraze and I were going to leave Saturna and the baby alone with Kael'thas and pretend like we never cared." He laughed bitterly. "But act or don't act, follow orders or no it didn't matter, Daphne! Both times, no matter how hard I fought or didn't fight, some monster came and… killed my Commander." He broke down, "And it was all my fault this time. It was hard without Tempest but before you and the rest of the Nexus came along, I got my cards going again, hooked up with a bunch of random women along the way to keep me sane… but I knew that the nightmares were still there, lurking at the back of my mind, waiting."

He groaned, "Doing that tarot reading for Sunthraze the other day turned out to be the last straw. The cards said something about this Olvi'athon guy, and I saw it happening all over again, but to Tempest. My nightmares have come back in a rush, ever since that day, Daphne. So now I'm definitely sure that something horrible is going to happen again, for a third time. And I'm the Commander, Daphne! I have to stop it from happening again, a monster coming to destroy a woman that I need, so badly. I'm the hero Daphne, I have to be, whatever it takes. I'm the hero…"

Pyorin cried then. He knelt on the floor and fell apart. The great shoulders sagged, he bent in half. It was heartbreaking to watch. Daphne crawled over and hugged him. He lost control of himself. This was not a man who was used to crying, who knew how to do it discreetly, or was aware of the way he looked when he did. Pyorin let it burst forth, and held onto Daphne like a child.

"And then there is this presence. Sometimes when we watch Belorim together, I can sense it, like Saturna is watching, judging me… but it's my guilt Daphne, I just know it. Saturna is gone because I betrayed her, because I let down Sylvanas first and now… oh gods, Daphne! Don't leave me tonight, please." He begged.

Daphne couldn't let go even if she wanted to. Pyorin lay on his side, and took her with him, he was so strong. He nestled into her shoulder and Daphne tried to forget about the horrible things Pyorin had just admitted to, that for years, he knowingly used her friend for sex so he could feel better, that he and Sunthraze had turned their backs on Saturna… and then after there were other women he used and lied to, that he never really did stop using his Darkmoon Faire cards to gamble. Pyorin still lived the fast life, in a way. It hurt so many other people, but it kept him sane. And all the while this was twisted into some kind of… hero complex? But Pyorin was only really ever interested in saving himself.

"Pyorin… what are you doing?" she had to ask because he was starting to do more than just hold her. His warm fingers slipped underneath her shirt. Daphne forgot to breathe as smoothed fingers wet with tears over her breasts. "Maybe… we shouldn't…" Pyorin kissed her neck, then her lips, lay completely ontop of her. Daphne felt him through the fabric of their clothes. But how had it turned to this so fast? His tears were one shock, and now he was getting stiff, pressing into her. She nearly lost her voice, Pyorin knew exactly where to go and it was already feeling so good. "Please, you're just… I'm not like Tempest—"

"I know. I don't want her… I love _you_ Daphne."

Her heart soared, but then that was followed up by an aggressive tug at her pants that brought Daphne back to the moment. No, he was upset. Pyorin didn't mean it. Especially not the way he ran around with other women…

"Come on, Daphne. You know I do. Come on…"

More angry than she thought such a revelation could make her, "Get in that bed."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Get off of me, and get in that bed! You aren't thinking straight, soldier, and I am going to keep you from doing something you'll regret. You haven't slept in days, am I right?"

"But I really want to—"

"Soldier, I said lie down!"

For some reason, that seemed to help Pyorin. She tucked him in, but he reached for her and begged Daphne again, not to leave.

She sighed uncomfortably and joined him. "Pyorin, how did you ever make it this far, on your own? You should have been talking to someone… you should have told Lady Liadrin or at least Tempest, if she's the only one you trust. Maybe you could have received some help."

Pyorin calmed. Daphne leaned up on an elbow to watch him. What was doing it? Being tucked into bed? The comfort of a woman? The long overdue offer of help, to ease the troubles of his mind? Then there was the most logical catalyst, that he himself admitted to. It made Daphne uneasy to let herself believe in it now.

She settled on, "It's going to be alright, Pyorin. You're a good soldier. I've seen you, I know."

"Daphne, I love you."

"Please… stop saying that. I know you don't mean it."

"But I do… I'm so angry at myself for letting you down, Daphne. I don't know what I was thinking, but I shamed myself and everyone else by listening to those stupid cards. This was precisely the thing I was afraid would happen. And then what? Surprise, surprise… I acted out my own greatest fears."

"I was hoping you wouldn't come to see that. I wasn't going to mention it… but it's not that you're an Olvi'athon, Pyorin. Those are awful people… before I came over I feared that myself but after hearing your story, of what you've been through, that can't be right. You're just in a lot of pain. You were afraid that this Olvi'athon monster was coming to attack your friends so you took control of the situation. Now, you either tried to sleep with Tempest so that you could get your bearings again and be ready for the fight, or, you decided to strike like the Olvi'athon before it could, so that Tempest wouldn't get hurt… but that hardly makes sense, doesn't it? It's not like a chess game, the way we play, where all the pieces are there on the board for you and I to see. Don't you think so, Pyorin?"

He was sidling up to her again under the covers. Daphne found herself smiling as she cautioned him to 'be a good soldier, and just rest.'

"You know Pyorin, if you'll let me help you, we can beat this thing together. You say you love me and I do care about you too. Maybe… it wouldn't be so awful if we got closer emotionally, romantically… it will be easier to share things, right?"

Pyorin was relieved. "Oh yes, I want that so much, thank you. So, would you like to…"

"I'll admit now that I didn't figure all this flashback stuff out on my own. My father was a Ranger during the old Amani Wars. He's what inspired me to become a Ranger too, after the Scourge left us with nothing to do but fight. Dad fought hard, he was proud of his sacrifices, but came home somehow… different. He also had nightmares about the war."

"Daphs, you're so pretty. I just want to…"

"…After a while it got worse than sleeplessness. It was like he lost control of his mind, not just his dreams. He became afraid of the strangest things... He feared that if he didn't wash his hands this many times, or touch the doorstop in the right way before he left for work, that something horrible would happen. And well, obviously, your version involves playing with those cards."

"Baby, I really do love you. Please let me…"

"…I was a girl during the worst of it, I'm not sure how it gets started. But the way Mom told it, Dad was a still a soldier, though he couldn't fight anymore. The worst war with the Trolls had ended but he was still stuck in that one defining moment of his life. He was still a man of rules and routine, though. That's why Dad needed to believe that things worked a certain way. It was how he stayed alive with the Amani Trolls, but you see…"

"Can I? Shh, Daphne…"

"…Well, not that it defined Dad so much, as he let that one war define him. It was so intense and traumatic he couldn't get himself out of it whether there was victory or no. Just like you. I will help you see that losing Sylvanas wasn't the end of the world, and the same thing goes for Saturna. She's not floating around, stalking you. She's a friend, a good memory that can be a comfort. But don't worry, you're not so bad off, Pyorin. You may recover yet, and I know the signs. At least now you have me to talk to about the nightmares." She looked down to see that Pyorin had fallen asleep.

Unable to help herself, she kissed his cheek before settling down next to him.

Hours later, Pyorin woke up yelling. Daphne wrapped both arms firmly around his wide chest and screamed too, ordered him to lay back down.

"She's a banshee! Did you see it? They ripped her very soul from her flesh. So much blood. My Commander, screaming…"

Daphne said calmly, "Pyorin, that was a dream. Years have passed. Lady Sylvanas is alright now. She's reclaimed her freedom and delivered many of our Forsaken Human allies in the process. She has brought hope and a future to so many. And you are safe here, with Prince Kael'thas in Tempest Keep."

Pyorin was sweating. Daphne wiped it away with her sleeve. "Kael'thas? Alright, I remember." Then, "Did they find Saturna though, Daphne? She went missing. If he's back then she is too right?"

Daphne didn't want to tell him this part, but she had to. "She died in the fight to save Kael'thas. We all did everything that we could, especially you. But it was just her time."

"No! Nooo… Every time I wake up, it is the same! This same hell! For once, I don't want to wake up!"

"Don't you dare say that." Daphne rocked him gently. "Please don't ever say that. We all need you, Commander. Stay strong for us, okay? Shh…"

It was hard for him, but Pyorin lay back down to sleep. Afterward, Daphne was haunted by her own nightmares, of what could have happened to Pyorin if no one ever found out what he was going through. It was so awful, and he'd been dealing with it alone for so long…

Morning came. Daphne woke up in Pyorin's bed to see him standing nearby, fully shaved and dressed, drinking coffee.

"Good morning." He sipped from his mug. The other hand was in the pocket of his white pants. Standard issue, Ranger night clothes once again. Daphne tried not to be so impressed with them this time around. She had a pair herself… at home and in her old trunk that is.

"Pyorin, are you alright? We had a rough night."

"Correction. I had a rough night. You were kind enough to help me. Lieutenant."

Before she judged him, Daphne leaned back on her hand and thought. "You need this, don't you?"

"Like I need to be dressed at this hour, drinking my coffee… and my fortune told." He nodded, and on the table his smoking green Darkmoon Faire cards were spread out in a definite tarot reading. Several lay face up, the others in a neat stack off to the side.

Then, he admitted, "Just like… I need to be standing this far away from you. I'm so sorry about what you saw with Tempest, and then last night."

"What would I have seen this morning, had I been lucky enough to wake up before you leapt out of bed?" She teased, "Probably like your hair was on fire? But I guess, if you don't want to be with me afterall… I'm not really much of a catch, am I? No, of course not. Ugh, forget I said that… Pyorin, if this is what you really want, then I don't mind about you coming onto me last night. I was sort of starting to look forward to getting involved with you, but it's okay."

Pyorin set down his coffee, then came back to the bed. "I got carried away with my cards, like you said happened to your father. I do remember some of it, before I dozed off. Daphne, I was under a lot of stress after that reading I did for Sunthraze, and I let things get out of control. And I don't know where my head was with Tempest or last night with you. I owe you an apology."

"No need to. You can't help who you are."

Pyorin furrowed his brow, sensing that this was some kind of veiled insult. "You're mad at me."

"No, I'm fine."

Pyorin knelt before her. "Daphne, I saw how you attacked Tempest after that whole Sunthraze incident. Admit it, you can be… sort of… passive aggressive, can't you? As your Commander, I can't let you explode at me like that in an emergency situation. We need to hash out our differences now." She crossed her arms and didn't answer. "Alright well, I am truly sorry, from the bottom of my heart, Daphne. I won't be misbehaving like that ever again."

Daphne was clearly disappointed. "…Really?"

"I will not break the rules again for a woman or anything else… I have to stick to the rules, Daphne, I have to."

She rolled her eyes. "Sunthraze likes to complain that you wouldn't let him get involved with Saturna while you guys were stuck at the Black Temple."

Pyorin was instantly offended. "So? That's Thalassian military tradition. Dating a superior officer is always out of the question. I was doing my job."

Just as fast, "Do I look like a job to you?"

Pyorin clawed the sheets on either side of Daphne. He'd been leaning on the bed for support while he knelt, but that had turned friendly at some point, and now…

"Come on, Meathead." Daphne looked annoyed. "There was a pun in there somewhere, an invitation. You do get puns don't you? Put two and two together."

He really couldn't. Pyorin blinked. "It's just… against the rules. I can't break them again, or there'll be another disaster. I'm sorry."

Daphne got up abruptly, and she was sure to let Pyorin get a good look at her backside before breaking through the arms that encircled her.

"Well, I'm not sorry. Why does it feel like you're intentionally trying to confuse me? If you're capable of flip-flopping back and forth like that Pyorin… you won't even give me a chance to decide whether or not I like you, or want to sleep with you because you can't commit to anything."

"Wait, you want to—"

"Not anymore!" she fairly shouted. "You are such a bastard, Pyorin. A real jerk!"

"Regardless of how you see me, I will still need your help with the flashbacks, Lieutenant… you have a knack for it and it's for the good of the Nexus."

Daphne opened her mouth in wordless shock and disappointment. "You're… using me? I offered to help you out of friendship, out of love… and you're turning it into an assignment, taking the affection right out of it when it doesn't suit you? You refuse to be romantic with me in any measure but you still want my help. You're going to pick and choose what you want from me, huh? Just like with Tempest… if everything works out the way you like, you'll have her body and my brains at your disposal. I see that you didn't tell _her_ No, that you couldn't sleep with her again. You just wanted her to drop Sunthraze and make the sneaking around less risky. How dare you! I won't let you use me the way you use Tempest, Pyorin, I swear I won't." Then, unable to help it, "Don't you even love me? Did you mean that last night?"

Pyorin stood and walked over. He set his jaw tight while Daphne waited. She ignored the flutter of hope in her breast. He said, "Soldier. I can neither confirm nor deny said accusations…"

"Oh by all the gods and the Sun in the sky…"

"And even if it was a slip on my part, the Thalassian army has a strict 'don't ask, don't tell policy…"

"You pervert! You liar! I hate you!"

"…for the good of every Knight in the Blood Nexus. I already explained this Daphne."

She pointed a finger in his face. "Let me tell you something. I'm not one of your chicken-headed 'go-to' girls, Pyorin. I may be a virgin, everyone knows that, but I'm not stupid. In fact, you should afraid of me. I know your game and worse for you, I know how to make you lose." She sneered, "I know how to make you _squirm_."

Pyorin looked at Daphne sideways, seeing a new frightening side of her.

"Commander, I have no idea why, when presented with the opportunity to have great sex with a woman who wants you so badly that she dreams of you, gives you chances you don't deserve… and… enjoyed hearing you have her friend in the lower bunk, you didn't take it."

"You were listening? I mean… actively!"

"I wanted to climb down and join you two." Daphne put her hands on her hips. "But too late, you don't want to break rank, and I don't want to sleep with you anymore, rules or no rules. Oh no, don't pout like that, Pyorin. You're going to have it your way, afterall. And before you even ask exactly what I meant by that whole 'joining you two' thing… I am under no obligation to tell you, what you can't ask me, that could incriminate myself and so impede the progress of this regiment." She pretended to admire her fingernails. "Unless I've misinterpreted Thalassian military tradition?"

Pyorin slipped into a smile, then hid that.

"See? I can turn you on and off whenever I want. You won't be able to sit comfortably on your fence and play both sides, both women for long. Oh, and there's a meeting in our bedroom tonight at o'twenty-one hundred. I expect to see you there."

Intrigued, "Oh Daphne, you had me going there. Now that, that sounds like a good time…"

"What_ can_ you be thinking? Tempest and I… have a map." She played with him at the edge of every word. "We're going to… spread it on the floor… and invite you over… to plot out how to take out those Burning Legion camps. Lady Liadrin did mention it to you, didn't she?"

Pyorin frowned.

"You will find that I have removed your mechanism for using people and objects compulsively to ruin yourself, Commander. That indecision you feel right now, that discomfort, the emotional and physical intensity with absolutely no parachute, no one that you can completely trust or turn to for relief… That is exactly what Tempest feels like all the time, and the way you're making me feel this morning, Pyorin. This is what it feels like when you are abused by someone for selfish reasons. Hurts, don't it!" Daphne laughed spitefully and slammed his door.

The Tank stood there alone for a moment, stuffed hands into his pockets, and finally, a little slow on the uptake, smiled wistfully.

"The two of them together… I wonder if… I bet if I played my cards right, the three of us could… No, I said I wouldn't. I have to stick to the rules. And besides, Daphne said it was going to be a purely strategic meeting, right? Didn't she? Well… either way… Unless… I'd be a fool to pass up something like this."

Pyorin considered then that his new love interest was just as psycho as the first one. He couldn't really depend on either of those women to watch his back, now. In fact, it felt like Daphne already had her knife ready to stab it, and was running home to warn Tempest to arm herself with one too. All to teach him some kind of lesson. "Oh, Arthas take it all! How could I possibly be _this_ screwed!"

Pyorin mumbled something further about taking the nightmares any day over those two horrible women. But then, he became confused over that statement too because it put him back in bed with both Daphne and Tempest, in his mind. It was all he could think about for that entire day and by o'twenty-one hundred that evening, Pyorin's brain was practically rotted back to dirt. Commander-hero complex or not, exactly as Daphne intended.

Pyorin messed around with his Darkmoon Faire cards a bit to try and sort things out, but that didn't change his reality. The only thing he could really do to survive that evening was to behave himself and treat both women like his friends. Well, either that or be completely honest about what awful things he really wanted from both of them. Pyorin was sorely sure that either route would lead to disaster. He didn't trust this newfangled 'let other people help you out of the kindness of their hearts' thing Daphne was trying to push on him. If everyone found out just how weak he was… could he still lead them?

Evenso… a certain phrase seemed to beg itself spoken as it always was between he and Daphne, and in the end, Pyorin was ruefully compelled,

"Checkmate."

Author's Note:

So where's 'Attack of the Olvi'athon, Part Two?' Muahahahaa...


	20. The Sleepover, Part Two

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Nineteen: The Sleepover, Part II**

Pyorin wondered if the Olvi'athon ever feared his victims would come back to haunt him…

He knocked once, then twice, then three times on the ladies' door. Normally, the flirtatious giggling of women did a little something for him. It was a sign that he was doing well, the sumptuous victory imminent. But this time, his palms were sweating.

"Good Evening, Pyorin." Tempest yanked the door open, laughed sultry.

"Yes, welcome to our _lair_." Daphne managed a dark grin.

"You know what, you _harpies_…" Pyorin's voice flew up at the end, "I changed my mind, I don't want to do this."

"And then we get to tell Lady Liadrin that you were disobeying a direct order." Daphne put hands on her hips.

Tempest hugged around her friend's waist. "And maybe I'll lie and say it's because you were conspiring with Kael'thas to join the Burning Legion. Then we lead the other Nexites in killing you, for screwing with us—literally. Well, me anyways, poor Daphne's still a virgin. And afterward, I get to be Mother Tempestraven."

Really, those two names should never ever be put together. That's what Pyorin thought aloud. Tempest snarled, nabbed him by the ear and forced him inside their room.

The room was set with romantic candles. There was a bottle of some drink one of them had made up on the cleared desk, and a bucket of ice. Pyorin noticed that the lower bunk bed was done up with extra pillows. Pyorin admired the scene, started to relax until the sound of chain jingling made him swerve back to the door.

But it wasn't Tempest and her creepy weaponsmith toys. Daphne was bent over, dragging a locked metal box from the closet and out into the middle of the floor.

The gentlemanly thing to do, of course, was to help her. "Let me…"

"Oh isn't he precious, Tempest. Did he do this for you when you two were dating?"

Tempest was having a drink of whatever that monstrous concoction was. "No. He treated me like shit."

"Oooh, what a mouth you have. But I guess, dirty words best punctuate dirty deeds."

"Yeah, our sorry relationship was dirty in more ways than one, you're right. But you and Pyorin aren't dating, are you Daphne?" there was a hint of jealousy.

Daphne mediated. "Oh no, of course not. I wouldn't touch _that_ with a ten-foot fel iron rod."

Tempest smiled at the compliment. Sunthraze had said that once, and he belonged to her now. "Yeah, _Sunthraze_ is the real catch—"

"Will you two stop with the act." Pyorin had got the lock open with an arcanite key Tempest left on the desk. "I get it, I'm a loser, I'm a womanizer, blah blah blah… Congratulations, you've made me feel awful. But I can see that there is a map inside of here, exactly as Lady Liadrin told me yesterday. So I know for sure what kind of meeting this actually is, no thanks to Daphne trying to turn me all around earlier." He pulled long leather scroll out of its container.

The map was drawn up by the Scryers recently. Unlike any of Kael'thas' Sunfury maps, this one displayed every one of Netherstom's weaknesses, and even depicted to-scale vulnerable points in the structure of Tempest Keep. A beautiful night sky that stretched across the region and its earmarks was actually an astronomical chart. On certain days, the alignment of the stars or the phase of the moon caused the Keep to gravitate differently, etcetera. All things that Kael'thas' astromancers no doubt knew in detail but weren't going to share with anyone. Especially not a few curious Bloodknights. But for now, the three of them were more interested in the Burning Legion camps marked in several places.

Pyorin knelt at the edge of the map that nearly took up the entire floor. "So, from what I've been hearing Lieutenants Dacian and Falx go on and on about, the Burning Legion camps are located here, here, and here, in a sort of strategic arc about a hundred miles out from Tempest Keep, ranging in importance from East to West. Now, there are five of us in all, if we make a calculated strike at once, we can team up in pairs of two. I guess… something like a healer and a damage-dealer or tank for the more difficult places. Hmm… but that leaves one odd man out. Better re-think that…"

"Oh no, we can't have an odd man out, not at all." Daphne's voice came breathy, playful.

"Though the pairing up idea, _that_ I like." Tempest was arrogant and coy as ever. "But we can fix that, can't we Daphs? Pyorin, why don't you join us…"

Pyorin was afraid to look up. No way were they doing what it _sounded_ like… what he could think but never ever act on as a Commander.

They'd taken their dressing robes off. Daphne had slipped her hands into the strappy shoulder of a purple nightie Tempest was wearing. She whispered how pretty her roomie was, how sweet for deciding to 'share afterall, unlike with Sunthraze.' Tempest ran a hand down through Daphne's long blonde hair, told her that she was so very cute in Pyorin's shirt.

"Wait! MY shirt? Where did you get my shirt from? You're wearing… Daphne, you're in my underwear…"

"You left it, silly." Daphne winked at him. "The undershirt you forgot to put on, after you were done having a good time with Tempest."

Pyorin floundered for a long while. "By the Sun… you look good in that. Now, wait up a second. You two need to stop… messing with my head."

"What, you think we normally sleep like this?"

"… and play like this?" Tempest leaned in and gave Daphne a kiss on the lips.

Pyorin watched it happen, but didn't fully believe it… until Daphne smiled that she enjoyed it and kissed Tempest back. It was too easy, not rehearsed at all. Both women really enjoying it.

"This… isn't the first time you all have—"

Tempest hugged Daphne to her breast, and smoothed her hair down lovingly. "No, Tankalicious. Daphne and I are friends, but also more than that. It's a secret that we didn't want anyone else to know, but we've decided to share you Pyorin, not fight. So our little history helps us now. We can indulge and share with you. But can you keep our secret?"

Pyorin was really struggling to convince himself that he wasn't going crazy. He asked Tempest to clarify.

Daphne was the one who answered instead. "It was several years ago, after you left the army, Pyorin. Tempest and I were on post-bellum detail, cleaning up after the Scourge. We got separated from our regiment during the night in the ruins of Tranquillien. There were banshees and ghouls still wandering around, you name it…" she paused because the memory was evidently unsettling, "They found us and closed in fast so ran for it. Tempest had the idea to dig into an old Ranger trench. You know, one with a stash of supplies to survive a siege. We were lucky to find it in the first place, even luckier that there was food and water left. We held out for days with those monsters hunting us. The orders from," an annoyed sigh, "Ranger-General Halduron were to leave any Ranger stragglers to the Undead. We weren't sure how to fight them yet after Sylvanas fell, or how to prevent the spread of the Plague. Halduron didn't want any soldiers closer to the enemy than the range of a bow, if that could be helped."

"Essentially, we were screwed, Pyorin, and scared for our lives."

Pyorin watched Daphne and Tempest hold each other now, and felt a little sad. The terror of that time was evident on their faces. He imagined that they shivered and clung to each other just like that, past hope, past fear even. If he'd been there, if he'd never defected…

"We thought we were going to die." Daphne took Tempest's hand now instead. "Tempest was really losing it. She kept talking about you, and how she always turned to you when she was so tense. Of course, this ex-boyfriend of hers that she was madly in love with wasn't around." And Daphne seemed to accuse Pyorin, "So I asked her what he did, and if I could somehow help instead. When Tempest told me, I didn't judge her."

A pause.

"Nor did I judge Daphne when she said that she didn't want to die a Virgin. We'd gotten close as friends, both of us were curious. We went for it."

Pyorin screwed up his face. "You were surrounded by Undead monsters, with no hope of survival, and all you could think to do was have _sex_, at the end of your lives?"

Tempest narrowed her eyes at him. "You were my friend too, Pyorin, and you know that if it was me and you instead back then, the exact same thing would have happened." Then Tempest admitted with a shrug, "And well yes, I'm a horndog, Pyorin. It's why you and I such a good fit in the first place."

Daphne kissed Tempest again to quiet her. "It was good, so good. But at the end… a little weird. Anyway, it made us feel better. The Scourge never found us. A pitch battle had erupted to the South and that drew all the enemy's attention. Thank goodness Tempest and I were clear-headed enough at that point to notice why our deaths were taking so long to come. We took our rare chance to escape. The um… little foray helped our nerves."

Pyorin had inched closer during the story. He now sat cross-legged right before them. The Tank covered his mouth, thinking.

"So you're not a virgin, then, are you Daphne?"

She played with Tempest's fingers. "I've not been with a man the way I always wanted to be… but the fact still remains that I cheated on Matt with Tempest all those years ago. He died a few weeks after that. It was hard to forgive myself."

"You did what you had to do, Daphne." Tempest reassured her friend. "And you sacrificed for me. I'll never forget that."

Pyorin considered Tempest next. His fingers cramped down into fists, because he knew Tempest better.

"You slept with my girlfriend!"

"I'm not your girlfriend!" Daphne snapped back.

"Tempest, I should… brain you for this! You ruined Daphne before I could even meet her yet? My own crazy ex-girlfriend!"

Daphne came to the rescue. "You ruined _my_best friend before I could even meet you, Pyorin, you jerk! And why am I not surprised that all of a sudden you don't want me anymore, because technically, I've been around the block. So it wasn't about love, was it? Just the fantasy of having a virgin."

Pyorin frowned. "Oh, that's not true. It came out wrong. Look, Daphne, I—"

Tempest's hot glare prevented the confession.

"Look, Tempest, I really care about you too. I still do… Ahem."

They were at an impasse. Pyorin saw that he had a choice. If he was going to break the rules, he had to do it with both of them, right now, or maybe risk their misunderstanding his feelings and never do it at all, never have the opportunity offered again.

"I… honestly love both of you."

"Psh. That isn't love." Daphne crossed her arms.

Pyorin shrugged. "Could be…" he leaned forward and kissed Daphne tenderly on the lips. Then he turned and did the same for Tempest. "You all tell me."

He sat back and watched them react. Daphne turned red, it wasn't clear what she was thinking. Tempest bit her lower lip. "Daphs… Come on. I know you." She took Daphne's hand. "But we can do this. It's what we already talked about, _sharing_. We have to, for our friendship."

Pyorin felt jealous that he didn't know Daphne as well as Tempest clearly did. Deep down… he also hated his ex-girlfriend for connecting with what he hoped would be his new girlfriend, or second one, or whatever, in that way already.

"Virgin, you can do this."

Pyorin slipped into a wry smile. "Yeah, Virgin. Let's all do this." Trying not to look too happy, "Let me, help you—both of you—help yourselves."

Seething hatred flickered in Daphne's eyes but then she banished it. "Yes. Let's." and grabbed Pyorin by the shirt collar.

The map, that important tactical assignment for Lady Liadrin and the Blood Nexus became their bed. For some reason, Tempest and Daphne wanted Pyorin to fully undress first. He wasn't one to complain. Pyorin kissed one woman, then another. Tempest caught him focusing on Daphne too long and pulled him ontop of her just when it seemed he was getting somewhere, and that was strange. Would they fight over him right now, would the three of them really be able to manage it with Tempest and Daphne not able to settle who was going to have him first?

"But this is Daphne's first time…" Pyorin slyly put in, and tried to loosen Tempest's stranglehold. "And besides, we have all evening, there's more than enough of the Woman Tank to go around…"

Tempest reached around and grabbed Daphne's wrist then. "Sweetheart, don't."

Pyorin was too busy gazing at two sets of smiles and… everything, to notice that Daphne had tried to slap him just then.

Tempest poured them all drinks to help with what she said was jitters. Pyorin agreed that they all, especially Daphne, needed to loosen up a bit. They sat on the map naked, sipping whatever the dark liquid was. Pyorin got a strange feeling that they were all at a Darkmoon Faire Card game. Someone had a winning hand… he had an awful sense that it wasn't him. But he didn't have his cards at the moment and Pyorin couldn't tell.

"Have some more mojito, Pyorin." After a few rounds, Daphne offered him her glass.

"Heheh. Is that what this is? I've never seen one dark, and so strong at that. The hell you do to it? You can hardly tashte… woah."

Tempest tried to pretend like it didn't mean anything, "Say Pyorin, you know what's hot? When you yell. Why don't you yell at both of us to take you, make it believable?"

Pyorin swayed, and did it, laughing. Then he reached for Daphne. "Can I tell you shomething? Wait, are you shtill mad at me?"

Daphne didn't break her scowl, though Pyorin couldn't fully appreciate what that meant at this point. "…No."

"Okay cool, caushe… Lemme say, I have been wanting to hit that," he nodded at Tempest next, "And that shince you guys got here. I mean, sooo bad. Sometimes I couldn't sleep. You two are so hot, and you share a room and all. And now I know you like each other too, so I wasn't imagining that either. It'sh so cute, so cute. Hey, so which one of you thought Saturna was hot? I've been wanting to know. Oh gods, I miss her." Pyorin started to cry. "Poor Saturna. It wasn't fair. And I never got to sleep with her either." Then, Pyorin slumped backward and passed out.

"Not enough dissolved sleeping pill if you ask me." Daphne glanced at Tempest when Pyorin started to snore.

"Pyorin's right, Saturna was really cute. Am I the only one tempted to sneak and go see that porn-trait again… What?"

Daphne crossed her arms. "You're still a horndog, Tempest. That's just awful. And I find this out years too late, after I give myself to you. Here, let's get him into position…"

"You know you liked it."

"Not… really."

"Well…" Tempest smirked. "Whether you did or not, I got to mess around with you twice cause of Pyorin so, ha!" and stuck out her tongue.

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Too bad Sunthraze can't know about this. He'd be so very happy that you're his woman right about now. Okay we don't have a lot of time left, so let's get moving. Lift the Woman-tank on three. One… two… three!"

_Later…_

Three knocks on the door. Lady Liadrin turned back to Sunthraze, Fennore and Mavia.

"Fennore."

"Yes, Matriarch?"

"I am not going to tell you again. I don't care what Mavia is to you, she is not allowed in any of our Bloodknight meetings. I can see her stealthed, right over there!"

"Why are they taking so long? It's o'twenty-two hundred, just like Daphne said."

Liadrin shrugged and tried knocking again. "Well, I can't say that I'm not surprised. Those two horrible girls are always up to something. Let's just hope there's not a bound and gagged man in there with them. "Tempest! Daphne! You two open this door, right now. We all have important business. The future of the royal army rests on whether or not you two can get presentable before I break down this door and get that valuable map, so help me…"

People in the hallway started to gather at the scene.

Far down the corridor, Daphne grabbed Tempest and shushed her giggling, made her roommate wait around the corner.

Liadrin shouted. "One… Two… Two-and-a-half… Alright, don't say I didn't warn you…Three!" The Bloodknight Matriarch reared up, conjured a thick Seal of Blood spell and rammed into the door, red magic sparking everywhere. Moments later, "What in Anasterian's name! Commander Pyorin the Tank, you get up this instant! What in all of Outland is wrong with you, soldier?!"

Tempest sank to her knees laughing. Daphne helped her back up. "Not yet, not yet… Lady Liadrin! Oh, it's so horrible! We were looking all over for you…"

Daphne and Tempest ran back into their room, holding dressing robes modestly closed. They cried and pleaded with the Lady to 'set Pyorin straight.' The words, 'steal our honor', 'plot to have a threesome', 'putting sex above Nexus business, just like you said' were thrown around.

Pyorin struggled up to find black mojito stained across the precious map of Netherstorm, his clothes scattered in a heap around that. The romantic candles, the one lower bunk all made up, all of that was gone.

"Where'd Daphne go?" he wondered groggily.

Daphne was busy ratting him out. "… and Tempest and I were in the middle of an innocent game of chess, we were trying to be good like you always lectured us. And he comes in shouting and saying that we have to sleep with him because he's the Commander and he's tired of waiting… he wanted to steal my… oh it's too horrible to say."

"Oh, there Daphne is, pretty lady. C'mere—"

Daphne hid behind the Matriarch and shrieked. Lady Liadrin scowled at Pyorin, took one gauntlet off and slapped him.

"Get a hold of yourself. Here, bring that ice over, Tempest."

"With pleasure…"

Liadrin upturned the bucket and poured what was now cold water all over Pyorin.

"Aaaaah!"

The charges were explained to him. The punishment for harassing female officers, especially ones beneath his rank were detailed with aplomb. Apparently, there was a special place in the Arcatraz for soldiers like Pyorin. Sunthraze shook his head, disgusted, and Fennore whispered his disappointment to grinning Mavia as Pyorin tried to explain what had really happened. But for some reason, though, there were witnesses from up and down the hallway claiming that they heard Pyorin yell, and the girls scream moments later. They said that Daphne and Tempest had run off to find help, but were too afraid to take what assistance their neighbors offered.

"How convenient!" Pyorin, hair sticking out all strange, and wiping water from his face objected. "Only because this is Nexite business. They had to find _you_, Lady Liadrin, you're the only one they could go to."

Liadrin angrily shushed Pyorin regarding their secret organization. "You sir, had better have a good explanation as to how this all came to be, if my girls really are playing some kind of game, wasting all our time… And honestly I _am_ inclined to believe something different, knowing them. But not without good cause."

Pyorin sneered at Daphne and Tempest. Both women looked serious now. The message, the point of that entire evening was more than clear now. Daphne said, "Go on, Pyorin. Tell her the truth, so we can all help you. You need it."

Or he could go to jail, his military career go up in smoke at the same time. Pyorin asked Sunthraze to close the door in his now shaky voice. Then he told his fellow Nexites everything he'd been suffering over the years. At some point, Daphne slipped her hand into Pyorin's. No, she didn't hate him. Her revenge done, that sweet innocent look had returned.

"… and I can't stop. Using the cards, or women. I'm hurting even the people that I love, Lady Liadrin, to survive the nightmares."

Tempest and Daphne explained that they set Pyorin up this night, to make him come clean. He'd only deny it otherwise, and that would mean it was their word against his.

"And we all know what _that_ counts for around here." Liadrin narrowed her eyes angrily at the ladies. "That map is ruined, gods know what you three did on it!" She sighed. But at least you helped one of your brothers to see the Light. Though I hate to say it, thank you."

Mavia growled with irritation. "Have I heard correctly? There was an orgy in here, against your Matriarch's will. The very key to saving Master Kael'thas' army from mutiny in the face of an impending threat from the Burning Legion has been destroyed… And you all are just going to look the other way?" She sneered, "Out of some pathetic kindness."

"Mavia, are you questioning my judgment… Why are you even in here! Fennore!"

"Yes, I am challenging you, Matriarch. The Blood Nexus has an excellent opportunity to thwart the Burning Legion in Netherstorm, but because of childish games, mishandled lust, Master Kael'thas' army will be detained, and frustrated here still longer. Do you welcome mutiny? Because that is all I can see resulting from this spineless show of leadership. At the Black Temple, Lord Illidan would have ordered me to horsewhip every last one of you spineless whelps for wasting his resources and time."

There were so many Nexite rules that Fennore had clearly broken through what Mavia revealed she now knew… Liadrin didn't know where to start upbraiding him. Thankfully, Mavia hadn't let on that she was a Bloodknight and Fennore a warlock. That could have possibly sealed their fates. Fennore put a gentle hand on Mavia's shoulder to prevent her becoming more distressed.

Sunthraze smirked. "Someone's got a lot of explaining to do. And may I just say, I KNEW IT!" then he walked over to his girl Tempest. "Oh, and baby, good job undoing Meathead here. Looks like he was in the way of his own salvation." And kissed her.

Tempest flinched, stole an awkward glance at Pyorin. Pyorin scratched his head and tried not to say anything.

"You both look very guilty." Fennore wondered.

Pyorin got a threatening look in his eye.

Mavia patted Fennore's arm and purred. "Oh yes, I see it now too. You have good eyes, my love, you can tell where real desires bond people. You are starting to see what a succubus can see."

"Demon-lover, that's enough out of you and your creepy mistress for one evening, okay? Try shutting your mouth." Sunthraze defended Tempest.

"Sunthraze… do you have any intention of apologizing for all those years you tortured and disrespected me?" Fennore inquired as gently as a gathering thunderhead.

"No. It was funny, why should I? And why are you taking it so personally all of a sudden?"

Fennore and Mavia shared a devious look. "Sunthraze, why don't you ask Daphne why she's wearing Pyorin's undershirt."

Tempest turned red.

Sunthraze smiled when he saw it. "Ho boy! I see you finally got your girl, Pyorin. So, Daphne, how does it feel to be one of us, eh?"

"Oh no, I-I'm definitely still a virgin. I would never—"

Sunthraze looked up to see Tempest mouthing for Daphne to keep quiet. But it was too late. "If Pyorin didn't leave his stuff in this room last night because of Daphne…" He withdrew his arm from around Tempest, could only look at her, hurt.

Lady Liadrin grimly herded them all out of the room and informed Tempest and Sunthraze to handle it 'without incident.' She didn't rescue one of her Bloodknights from the Arcatraz just to put two more in.

The door slammed shut to both redheads yelling at each other. Out in the hallway, Fennore and Mavia went away a few paces after Liadrin, sharing a conspiratorial laugh.

Pyorin had got his pants back on at least. He smiled awkwardly down at Daphne's hand in his.

"So… Where does that leave us?"

Daphne took her hand away before Pyorin could even finish his sentence. "I learned a lot about you, Pyorin, over these last few days."

"Oh, Daphs, come on…"

"It's not that I hold your… bad habits against you. I understand why you have them now. Like I said, my father went through much the same thing. But you see… that's just it. I don't want to end up with someone like my father. He could have helped himself, but he never did. He didn't want to change. It was such a burden on Mom and me."

"I'm not that kind of guy, though. I can change…"

"No, you're wrong Pyorin. You are _that guy_. That guy who didn't think much of his best girlfriend to begin with. When you ran around on Tempest and ditched her, before Sylvanas was made a banshee, you were that guy. And even after you went through all that pain, and tried to be a hero, recover on your own, you were still _that guy_. Tonight, when you finally let loose and were honest for a change, I heard you say some things to me and my friend that were so awful… I started to feel really glad that we didn't go all the way last night. I couldn't believe you'd tricked me into thinking that you could be a gentleman for so long."

Pyorin bowed his head. He was too choked up to say anything substantial.

"I care about you, and I want you to get better, Pyorin. But I could never date you, let alone sleep with you. It's the same as when we started."

"So, I'm not good enough. After I tried so hard to do the right thing… That's what it all comes to." He nearly whispered it.

Daphne hugged him. "Now, I didn't say that. Just that we're… incompatible." But Pyorin had heard this speech before. It was the same thing. "And also, Tempest decided that neither of us would go after you, for the sake of our friendship."

"No, why would you ever want to share me, like you pretended to? Of course you wouldn't. Heh… I remember the whole thing, about the ten-foot fel-iron pole." But Pyorin was trying hard to laugh. He hugged Daphne back, then stepped respectfully aside. Finally, he didn't know how to say good bye after all that without losing himself, so he forced a salute, according to tradition, and walked briskly away.

Daphne wiped a tear from her eye. "Why is it you always love the ones who are so bad for you…" Suddenly Daphne wished Pyorin hadn't left so fast. She still needed that hug. It made her think of Belorim's headless teddy bear that the little boy hugged all the time. And then that reminded Daphne of when she babysat the little Prince alongside Pyorin… Pyorin with his strong arms, always there to offer a hug, even if it had other motivations all along.

Regardless, his flaws, Pyorin had still been her teddy bear. Even headless teddy bears that didn't always figure out what to say or do fast enough could be loving, kind and gentle. But Daphne would not allow herself to recall that no one was perfect, when it came to Pyorin. She'd made a promise to Tempest.

_Back inside the room…_

The argument between Sunthraze and Tempest dwindled to the inevitable sticking point:

"Sunthraze, I'm sorry but I never agreed that we were in a relationship."

"But you _knew_ that I was in love with you. What else did you think I wanted!"

"This again…"

"My intentions should have been more than obvious—"

"Look, how old are you, exactly?" somehow that was cold, so Tempest added, "You've admitted before that you like older women and that's clearly part of the attraction. Not that I'm making any assumptions, but I'd hate to be deluding you Sunthraze." She smiled kindly.

Sunthraze floundered for a bit, frustrated that his confusion was so obvious. "It's not like I've never done this before," Tempest flicked her wrist about, for him to get on with it. He said, "I just turned thirty-one actually."

"Liar."

"Twenty-nine?"

She was able to laugh, because despite everything, Sunthraze was charming. Now that he was so exposed, he was also adorable. "That still sounded uncertain, sweetie. Come on, let's be completely honest with each other for once."

Sunthraze mumbled, "I'm twenty-four."

"Fucking…" Tempest got wide-eyed and had to light a cigarette. "That's more than a decade! How are you so good at pulling the wool over everyone's eyes?"

He smirked. "Just yours."

She puffed nervously. "I'm _not_ telling you how old I am."

"Doesn't matter. I already know. Think I didn't check up on you first?"

"You're a real piece of work Sunthraze the Sly. More than a decade. Now I feel… did I break some kind of laws back there, sleeping with you? Good gods."

"Eleven years is nothing. Why, I once dated a woman my mother's age—"

"Okay, let's set your obvious mommy issues aside for a bit." Tempest cautioned. "…Because you're starting to scare me, Shortstuff. What I was getting at, by bugging you about your age, is that you don't seem to understand how people become committed to one another in the first place. Now, I'm not saying that what I did with Pyorin isn't wrong, but to be honest, after it happened… I didn't think anything of it. I never planned to tell you because I thought we were just messing around. I had a right to my dalliances, just as you had yours. Unless… you haven't been involved with any other women this entire time?"

Sunthraze averted his eyes.

"Well then that's the problem." Tempest coolly amended. "You've been doing nothing but pursuing me over this past month. We've done that lots of times, for fun, out passion, out of fear… or for no reason at all. And you thought that was… Geez, you really _are_ in love with me, aren't you, youngling?"

"Don't call me that, Tempest, I'm not stupid. And as for the love thing… I _told_ you!"

"Yes, you told me. But you never _asked_me. Do you understand the difference, Sunthraze?"

He almost pouted and bit his lower lip to keep that from happening. Something wasn't exactly right, but Tempest had more experience. Sunthraze could take it or leave it he knew, but if after all this hard work, he lost her… and they were just getting started. One little mistake wasn't going to hurt, and with an ex too. "Pyorin's sort of like… your Saturna, isn't he?" it was hard for Sunthraze to admit that.

Tempest focused on her cigarette when she replied. "Yeah. Just like that. But trust me, baby, I don't want to go through that with another man again. Oh, it was awful."

Sunthraze watched her carefully. "I'm in love with you, alright. But I won't allow you to walk all over me. I'm younger than you, not an idiot." Tempest smiled sweetly. He went on, "Well fine then, I'll ask you now, to be crystal clear this time around. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Tempest almost melted. "You're so silly… it doesn't work like that, exactly."

"Okay, okay, so here's a breakdown of like all my issues and desires or whatever so we can skip the dating first part. I _know_ that comes first, but I just forgot."

Tempest was smiling fondly already at him though.

Sunthraze said, "I like older women because they know what they want. Most times they are emotionally and sexually mature. I hate to say it, but Daphne, though she's a sweetheart, is a case in point."

"Gotchya." Tempest nodded that she understood. "So… why me? Why not Lady Liadrin or any of the other women on this ship?"

"I don't like a lot of the other women on this ship. They tend to be brainwashed Sunfury soldiers obsessed with General Blaize in all of his obese, self-absorbed glory. And yes, I _was_ attracted to The Lady for a bit, but that was back when I was just an initiate to the Blood Nexus and I didn't know her very well. She's pretty stuffy, isn't she? And she never lets her hair down. Liadrin never lets you joke with her, you know? Well, maybe it's because she looks down on us all a bit, because we're of a different generation. And you want to know about Saturna too, right?"

Tempest admitted that she had been afraid to ask.

"But that's the thing you know… when people die, they don't just go away. They are always with you. Maybe Saturna's gone but she'll never stop being my friend." After a reverent silence Sunthraze tried to cheer himself, "Okay so first of all, so very hot, and secondly, as my superior officer I could actually be myself around Saturna. If I misbehave or say something off-color she just punishes me. That's neat and easy, isn't it? It's better than fighting again and again with someone over why I'm a joker. But we don't do that Tempest. Because, unless I've been dreaming this whole month with you, you like me just the way I am."

"I'll give you that—"

"So here's my life in a nutshell: I'm twenty-four years old, I grew up on a hawkstrider ranch in Eversong woods, wanted to be a Ranger but went Bloodknight instead because I thought it would be cooler—and it wasn't." He took a breath, "I also enjoy fast women and older women, but when I can have both, I can't be held accountable for my actions. And my favorite color is red. Lucky you. There, now you know everything."

Tempest couldn't stop smiling from behind her cigarette. "Do I? Really now, what do you want with me Mister Sly?"

Sunthraze inhaled deep and couldn't hide his feelings at all. "You're way out of my league. It's the thing I'm not supposed to ever admit to, but there it is. I sort of… came from nothing. And despite how I worked so hard over the years, I still don't have a damned thing to show for it. By the gods, working for Lady Vashj that time was the first opportunity I had to make real money and a life for myself but that went south fast. Do you know she _still_ sends me crates and crates of Underbog strawberries? When is she going to get that it was about the money and not… nevermind. Tempest, my point is, you are the kind of woman I've wanted my whole life. Just because everyone else wants you for how sexy and fun, and mind-blowingly alluring you are… That isn't going to make me flag in the least. I'm not intimidated. I want you, and now I've got you."

"By the way, your farm-boy background… And you make jokes about all of us?"

"Please Tempest, _please_. Give me a chance to sweep you off your feet, to show you that I'm worth it. I'm better than all those other guys, a hundred times better."

She sat on the bed and thought it over.

"You're a smart mouth but also a gentleman. And I've never seriously dated one of those… Oh, I don't know. I'm awful at relationships. And you're so much younger."

Sunthraze sat beside her. "Alright, let me try the way that I learned makes people respect me, no matter where I came from." He cleared his throat. "Lucia the Tempestraven. You would be damned lucky to have a man like me. Why? Because I know exactly how to handle a woman. Now, don't be offended. I mean that in all the right ways. And maybe even some of the wrong ones."

Tempest was left stuck on a long drag that finished her smoke before she was really ready to. "I sort of… like the wrong ones."

"Yeah, I noticed." He took it from her and ended it in an ash tray just behind them on the table.

It was rash and too fast of a make up maybe. But Sunthraze was sure of himself. Tempest finally understood, and accepted that she wanted him in all his innocent chivalry, his momentous effort to treat her right, treat her perfectly.

It was a relief.

"Sunthraze… I could only be like this with someone I really cared about. That's my little confession."

"I figured that out already, Mommy. But it's good to hear you say it."

"Uh… that's not my new nickname is it?"

"Would you rather that it just slipped out?"

Tempest hugged Sunthraze in the darkness and laughed. "Fine then, baby."

"Anyways, it's because of the height difference. Irritates you, doesn't it? So are we exclusive now? I figure that with you I have to spell it out."

"Mmhm. I'm all yours. And you're all mine." Tempest smiled and hugged Sunthraze close.

Tempest let out a little sigh of relief. She'd gotten away with having both men she wanted, but just barely. And she managed to keep Daphne as a friend as well. That was very lucky, because without Daphne's brains, Tempest would have never found a way—or free ride, really—out of her own mess. _Sorry to do that to you, Pyorin sweetie, but you need to brush up on your game…_

"He said this Olvi'athon monster was going to come and attack you, Tempest. That's the lame excuse Pyorin gave me earlier, for trying to break us up."

Sunthraze was on exactly the same wavelength and that startled Tempest.

"Did he? Poor Meathead. Well, he won't be hitting those spooky cards so hard anymore. So, who do you think it is, Sunthraze? This Olvi'athon that's going to punish us for our sins of pride and not learning any lessons about respect or friendships or whatever. If I remember the old fairytale, anyways."

"I… don't believe in it at all. It sounds ridiculous. I thought you didn't either?"

To her superstitious disquiet, Sunthraze said, "Well looks like it's coming for us, whether we believe in it or not. Thanks for making me paranoid, Tempest."

She squeezed him tight. "Mommy wuvs you, don't worry. As long as I don't sleep with the thing, we're alright, if I recall. And I'm going to be honest and true and faithful to you from now on, I promise. You behave too, now, Sunthraze."

"Do I get a spanking if I can't?"

"Sort of… defeats the purpose. Mmm… Oh, well, here comes trouble."


	21. A woman to ruin Kael'thas

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Twenty: A woman to ruin Kael'thas**

There was a rumor going around that Kael'thas was dating someone.

Who was she? A Night Elf woman, graceful but also somehow feral. A druid? No, not that, never that, what can you possibly be thinking? Not among Illidan's allies, not with Malfurion trapped _under_ the jail, somewhere in Shadowmoon Valley. But she looks a lot like Illidan though, acts exactly like him too… though they also say she's blind.

How awful for Kael'thas to have been set up with Illidan's sister. That's what they said next, that this woman was Illidan's sister. Are they sleeping together? Oh of but of course, have you even seen her! She's beautiful, and has these exotic tattoos all over. Kael'thas can't keep his eyes off her of her and all those frightening tattoos, though it's strange… after Saturna Whiteblade, no one expected him to go out with a person so dangerous, speaking in tongues the way N'shatai does. Fluent in so many dialects of Demonic, sharp canine teeth, knows everything that can be known about Demons and their doings, perfect for a warlock. And all over him too. N'shatai is more frightening than the latest Illidari addition to Tempest Keep. And speaking of Mavia the Maneater, did you hear that she hates N'shatai? _Hates_ her with a passion, because Mavia knows her well, this warlock-loving woman, Illidan's sister.

The gossip went round and round like that in circles that made absolutely no sense. For one thing, if Illidan had a sister, wouldn't the whole of Azeroth and Outland know about it? Would Kael'thas really be amenable to Illidan setting him up with a woman… and _would_ Illidan ever set Kael'thas up with someone who would just end up dividing the warlock's coveted attention? That had been the problem with Saturna Whiteblade three years ago…

"That is what I would like to know." Lady Liadrin crossed her arms and looked down her nose at Sunthraze and Tempest one morning. They were newly made up after their falling out, that was obvious. But hard to appreciate when Blaize was taking his time in the background, gathering up all the old law books and what not he'd brought over to the Matriarch's apartment the previous night. That he was sleeping with their superior… Blaize seemed to get a kick out of it for some reason.

Arms hugging a bundle of clothing and books, Blaize raised his voice into the conversation. "Let me guess, you two are stuck fixing that nightmare man's love life?"

"General Blaize, may I suggest you hurry that tight ass of yours."

Sunthraze glared at Tempest sneaking in a compliment to the other man in the room.

Blaize hid his smile for Tempest, then turned to pull Liadrin into a tender embrace. That sort of glee had a more than obvious source. "Thank you, finally, for last night. We worked hard on drawing up these papers, didn't we? And it was sorely deserved." He parted from Liadrin and gathered up the rest of his things. "You'd better be ready for even more too, love. Because now that we've lost that map, I _will_make sure that Kael'thas signs this contract…" he paused when Sunthraze and Tempest leaned forward in their seats, wondering what he could mean. "So then. I'll see you again tomorrow night, Liadrin, to celebrate?"

Tempest brightened, whispered something into Sunthraze's ear. He blurt out, "So Blaize works like a dog and you throw him a bone? Is this your big, secret mission with the Sunfury army, that we weren't supposed to interfere with? HAHA!"

Blaize was promptly put out then. Liadrin immediately set about threatening both her Bloodknights with excommunication from the Nexus, to which Sunthraze merely shrugged. The very next threat was to put them both on babysitting duty again, in place of Pyorin and Daphne whom Kael'thas insisted on after the porn-trait incident. The Prince liked to focus on the reason why Belorim had got into the painting in the first place, rather than him owning a wall-sized pornography. During that short-lived meeting a while back, Tempest and Sunthraze failed to argue for their reputations on the matter. In the first place, they'd wanted to get fired, and in the second place, they couldn't stop laughing at Kael'thas the whole time.

Liadrin shouted, "You will rue the day you mocked that man's tragic misfortune, toyed with his broken heart and offended his innocent son!"

Tempest and Sunthraze stopped laughing right then in there. In their ears it sounded a lot like Pyorin's Olvi'athon prophecy.

"Now, why is it that Kael'thas is dating someone apparently dangerous to his well-being, and I don't know about it? What _have_ you two been doing to encourage him on the romantic side of things?"

Both redheads stared at Liadrin.

"… Am I to conclude then that you've been chasing each other like rabid animals this entire time, not minding _any_ of your Bloodknight duties?"

More clever silence.

"Get out of my sight. Go on, get! NOW! And don't you come back until this N'shatai fiasco is settled. I swear, by the Light, that if it truly _is_ Lord Illidan's sister Kael'thas is shacking up with, I am going to kill the two of you with my bare hands, resurrect you and then murder you again! GET OUT!"

Suffice to say, Tempest and Sunthraze took this matter very seriously, when at last it was forced upon them.

_Later…_

The magical red doors to Kael'thas' apartments slipped open to a near horrifying scene.

Kael'thas and the majestic N'shatai both arguing in a terrifying dialect of Demonic that echoed in the room and seared ears. He and the woman promised the vilest sorts of death and destruction to each other in tongues… while pulling at her clothes.

"Ugh…" Sunthraze swore. "This is exactly why I did not want this assignment."

Tempest laughed, then let forth a sharp whistle to break it up.

N'shatai was an exotic beauty. She was taller than Kael'thas by at least a head. Her long rose-colored limbs moved gracefully despite how savage N'shatai could make herself sound. N'shatai had an odd way of drawing calm to herself when she wasn't speaking, breathed through her mouth like a gentle animal when lulls in conversation swelled. She would float in and out of being a majestic Night Elf woman, and Kael'thas seemed not to miss it, though he was still irritated with her. They glared at each other for a long time.

N'shatai lost the odd warlock versus Demon Huntress staring contest. She yelled, "I'XAX HARII NOMMA UNTA RUFSTHATAA HAAAAACK!" and sounded like she was going to hack up something awful and spit on Kael'thas at the end.

Kael'thas broke his gazing and snarled in response. "Your mother."

"I do not find you amusink, Blood Elf Prince. You are pathetic vaarlock. Disgusting!"

"_You_ had better not walk around _my_ ship bare-chested and give my men the wrong sorts of ideas." Kael'thas removed his hands, now that the point was made. "Keep that shirt on, thank you very much. It's bad enough that Illidan had you come here and spy on me."

"Ohhh… This is the part where they give into their feelings and kiss each other." Tempest smiled slyly. Sunthraze laughed with her.

Kael'thas and N'shatai paused to explode at both redheads at once.

"Prince Kael'thas. I earned zis right when I become full Demon Huntress." Now N'shatai's resemblance to Illidan made sense. The fel-tattoos, the strange hide pants stitched with the very same. And, one would have thought the twin blades that resembled the fist-scythes of Azzinoth Illidan used, laying on Kael'thas' desk, would have been a dead give away too, but those were hard to see from where Tempest and Sunthraze were standing. Illidan and N'shatai weren't related by blood, like the rumors suggested, but by profession…

Her accent was odd as well as her guise. N'shatai spoke as if some ancient dialect of Demonic was her first language, and not Darnassian. "I am strong and proud, vithout need for armor, for my fel-runes. I am ze one woman Demon Hunter of all Illidan's servants, but dat is no matter. I MUST go bare-chested, Prince Kael'thas."

"No, you must not." He mocked. "What you _must_ do is stop following me around everywhere and ruining my reputation."

"Reputation is already ruined. And when I cannot even carry ze veapons of a Demon Hunter in public zen how else can I divine your _vile_ works? I smell Demon magic everywhere in zis place…" and she sniffed the air like some wild animal, twisting her head about, crouching with clawed fingers outstretched. "So thick, I hardly know where to begin."

"Wow… she's really hot, in her spooky way." Tempest whispered to Sunthraze. Sunthraze gave his girlfriend a strange look.

Then he asked, on the verge of laughter, "So… you aren't dating anyone afterall, Kael'thas?"

"No… I'm being spied on, officially, by an Illidari Demon Hunter. Apparently, sending Mavia here wasn't enough for Illidan."

"You!" N'shatai pointed. A long braid of silken navy hair woven behind her violet ears in the traditional Kaldorei style slipped over her shoulders. "You are friend vith vaarlock!"

"Him? Hardly _my_friend." Sunthraze nodded at Kael'thas, misunderstanding whom exactly N'shatai meant.

Kael'thas grumbled, "It's mutual."

"And you!" she turned on Kael'thas before leaving. "You have sex with Demons. Disgusting! Maybe amusing now, but it vill make you sick," her eyes got wide, "put a cancer in your soul. You vill not be able to have any voman without _destroying_ her."

Sunthraze had been laughing heartily at Kael'thas' expense until then. Who N'shatai was referring to hit a painful note with all of them.

N'shatai reached past Kael'thas for her weapons, but he got in her way.

"Huntress N'shatai, may I ask where you intend to wander unfettered through my ship, and hopefully with your shirt kept on?" Kael'thas threatened.

"To continue investigation of Burning Legion, according to Master Illidan's wishes. Beyond eeevil Maaavia of course, everyone knows Lord Illidan, ze almighty, turned her."

Kael'thas didn't look surprised to hear it. He motioned for N'shata to go without her 'unsettling instruments that would only cause his men to panic.' After N'shatai felt her way past them, half-seeing, half sensing from under her ritual Demon Hunter's blindfold, Tempest and Sunthraze burst forth with questions. They wondered how long Kael'thas had known about Mavia's duplicitous loyalty, they accused him of siding with the enemy, demanded whether or not poor Fennore knew?

Kael'thas sat at his desk. "First of all, there is no such thing as 'poor Fennore.' Pathetic Fennore, yes, and stupid Fennore, which is even more accurate, but never 'poor Fennore.' He is more capable these days than either of you could ever imagine."

"Stop distracting us from what we need to know Kael'thas." Sunthraze accused.

"I found out from N'shatai only a little while ago that Mavia used to be a member of the Burning Legion. It's not exactly a secret, just one that Illidan never cared to tell me. And that infuriating N'shatai cannot stop talking about how much she distrusts Mavia, how much she hates her… I've been hearing nothing but that all day long, believe me." Kael'thas rubbed the bridge of his nose. "But I can assure you that Mavia's loyalty isn't strained in any way while she's here, for what it's worth. From what I've gathered, Mavia left the Legion because she was so opposed to their works. It is just another reason why Illidan finds her so valuable. She knows a great deal more about them than anyone else."

"What about you?" Sunthraze prodded. "That kind of information could be useful to you too, Kael'thas."

Tempest saw the argument bubbling over, sat on the desk between the two men. "Easy now, boys, we aren't all here for that."

And it sounded weird, as if the three of them were about to do something together. Tempest had a strange way of implying all kinds of unladylike things without really trying to. Or, was it that she always tried to, like a second nature?

"If you've come to ask for your baby-sitting privileges back…"

Tempest leaned a little over the blades and papers on Kael'thas' desk, winked. "No. We're here for something even better. My Prince."

When Kael'thas learned of their new assignment he swore so loud and wrong that both Sunthraze and Tempest had to cover their ears.

"I am _not_ taking love advice from either of you two!"

"It's either that or let everyone in the Keep think that you keep gargantuan pornography in your bed chambers, have sex with your succubus, and are dating Illidan's sister." Tempest didn't stop smiling up at him, scooted closer across the desk. Kael'thas frowned and inched further away in his chair.

"Which, has certain implications, by the way," Sunthraze snickered, "Like… that you'd be willing to date someone exactly like Illidan except for the gender part."

"I hate both of you."

Tempest grinned specially at him. "Not me, though right? I'm going to make this lots of fun…"

Sunthraze gently pulled his girlfriend by the arm, so that she got up from the desk. "So we can be a little mean… like, okay so all the time. But Tempest and I promised Liadrin we'd be nicer to you," Snorted laughter slipped through that, "Ahem. And, despite how _my girlfriend_ looks, Tempest isn't going to bite you Kael'thas, or is even allowed to spend any time alone with you, by The Lady's orders, don't you remember? Dear?"

"Oh, riiight. Liadrin did mention that a while back. Sorry."

Sunthraze folded arms across his chest, ignored the pang of her coming onto another man so fast. First Blaize, and now Kael'thas… what next?

"Alright, so Tempest and I were talking, Kael'thas. What this all boils down to is getting you laid by a normal" he eyed him, "…ish woman."

"Belorim is just fine by the way, thanks for asking. Since my son's near death experience, he's been having nightmares, has tummy aches… thank the Sun that you all came by offering to hook me up with someone. Because forcing Belorim's daddy to date will surely make him feel better."

Tempest sat down. Sunthraze scratched bright hair at the back of his neck. "Sorry Kael'thas, we had no idea."

Kael'thas shook his head. "Admit it, you don't really care. But I do. I can't stop worrying about Belorim. And with N'shatai here I can't even relax… Illidan is ruining my life! Did you hear that, Illidan? My son is sick and I'm to busy entertaining your psychotic Kaldorei crony to even be a comfort to him!" Kael'thas yelled through their Soul Link. "And why am I even complaining to you two for, like you care. What I would give for someone reasonable to speak to. But that's a luxury isn't it? To have friends."

This was the part where the two Bloodknights were supposed to reassure their Prince that they were his friends.

Kael'thas got through it, as he did so many things, by changing the subject. "You know what, Belorim hasn't left his bed in an entire week. I'm sure he'd love to see some new faces… even if they are_yours._"

It turned out that Kael'thas was right. Belorim smiled when he saw Tempest and Sunthraze, cheered up to see the Bloodknights he called 'his heroes' immediately. Kael'thas sat beside drowsy Belorim and helped him to sit up while Tempest and Sunthraze awkwardly asked the boy about his day, which was a limited conversation, and then about Belorim's favorite games, none of which he could play in his condition.

Belorim wiggled his little toes under the blue blanket and yawned. There was a pause during which they all felt what Liadrin had been getting at. Kael'thas and Belorim were royalty yes, they practically lived in a palace… but they were still a family in need. There was so much pain and sadness, and a little compassion could go a long way to help.

Kael'thas leaned down and wrapped both arms around his son.

"Are you his girlfriend?" Belorim asked suddenly, and started coughing.

Tempest was caught off guard. "Uh, yeah…"

"Where's Pyorin?"

Sunthraze flinched. Kael'thas smoothed blonde hair back from his son's sweaty brow. "Bim, don't worry about that—"

"Was he mean to you again?"

Tempest answered carefully… "Well, at first. But something happened… We fixed it though. We're all still friends. It's fine." Sunthraze looked uncomfortable.

Belorim stared straight ahead for a long quiet while. "Not Fennore."

"Son, this is sort of an adult conversation, you shouldn't concern yourself with these things." Then whispered, "I know you like them but… they aren't our family."

Sunthraze and Tempest were hurt to hear it. Kael'thas told them, "The way you've treated us… I wouldn't be surprised."

Softly, sleepy, oddly defiant, "Where's Uncle… Fennore?"

"He tried to kill me."

"Sunthraze!"

"What? It's true Kael'thas. Or didn't your minion tell you what he did to cover your secrets. None of us are speaking to him anymore. Him and eeevil Maaavia."

Belorim giggled, but that ended in a fit of coughing. "Das funny. 'Member when, at the Black Temple he used to…"

Sunthraze stood immediately. "How does Belorim know about anything from back then?"

Kael'thas shook his head. "I don't know. I think he hears more of my conversations than I realize. And he always blames it on his imaginary friend… but what do I care if he eavesdrops on me? He's my son. He can do whatever he wants…" Kael'thas lay down completely beside Belorim, his only comfort. "Look you two," he whispered when Belorim began to doze. "This is where I want to be, right here. I won't leave my son."

"But you said you were lonely, Kael'thas. You feel like you don't have any… friends?" Tempest sat on the edge of the bed. "I understand about your demanding work and all, but you can't keep isolating yourself like this. You also sound… afraid to trust other people. I know we Bloodknights keep screwing up but, still."

Sunthraze observed, "Belorim responds to you. He's too serious for a little boy, and he's getting that from you Kael'thas. All you do is wander around here and worry about him. You don't smile at him, you don't try to be happy for him, you can't. You get three guesses as to how that's going to affect his current condition."

Kael'thas lay there for so long, quiet and reluctant, Tempest and Sunthraze were forced to accept that there was nothing they could do for him, if Kael'thas did not even care to try.

"What if I…" he addressed them as they went through the door. "Take Bim with me, for a walk. What if we just walk outside in the Foyer for a bit. I'll hold him, he can sleep… will that count as me trying to cheer up and move on?"

Tempest hugged Sunthraze and tried not to cry. Sunthraze said, "It's a damned good start, Kael'thas, at last."

_Out in the Foyer…_

Belorim snored softly as Kael'thas and what looked like a regiment of nurses and physicians strolled among humming violet lights, patrolling guards with dragonhawks, and of course, curious Sunfury women who found excuses to wander down to the lowest level of the ship and sneak a rare look at Kael'thas and his son.

"What is this supposed to help me do, exactly?" Kael'thas whispered to Sunthraze. The ship should have been loud and alive with the noise of people working in Tempest Keep. Everyone seemed aware of Kael'thas though. Even the phoenixes soaring above in the Core had fallen silent. That sort of reverence made it feel like all pairs of eyes were on them.

"Women love kids." Sunthraze joked. Kael'thas flashed him a look.

Then, "Do they… really?"

"Do you mean you never even tried it? There _are_ benefits to being a father, Kael'thas." Tempest smiled sadly.

"Well it doesn't affect you, Tempest." Kael'thas observed.

A mischievous smile. "Who said it wasn't—"

"_Mommy_…"

"Sorry, Sunthraze." Tempest said quickly and stopped leaning so close over Kael'thas' shoulder to peek at Belorim.

"I'm not asking how your girlfriend got that awful nickname." Kael'thas glowered.

"Saturna used to call him Sunshine." Sunthraze told Tempest and instantly shifted embarrassment.

"Awwww…" but it wasn't Tempest fawning over the Prince. Two Sunfury Magisters had wandered in nearer than most in the Foyer.

"Is that what you call him, Prince Kael'thas?" One of the women said. Kael'thas cleared his throat.

"Um no… that's sort of… or was my nickname. I call him Bim."

"Bim Bim." Sunthraze corrected.

Another round of oohing and ahhing.

At Sunthraze's encouragement, the ladies got Kael'thas talking about how much he loved his son, and their favorite things to do together, and all the fun trouble they got into when… well when Belorim was feeling better. The women in red Magister's robes lingered for a while, suggesting remedies, wishing Kael'thas and Belorim good luck, wondering when they might see father and son out in the Keep again, because they were so adorable together…

"You know… you can make an appointment and see Kael'thas whenever you like." Tempest said.

Kael'thas squinted an eye, suspicious.

"Just, you know, make a _date_ with him through Advisor Sorn."

"But I…"

Sunthraze came forward and patted Kael'thas on the back. "Right now isn't the best time, you see, and he's normally so very busy with work and his son, and all. But if you want to chat and spend even more time with him…"

"A handsome Sunstrider."

"Who's single, might I add?"

"The last of his line, at that."

"And a loving father, a widower,"

"Wait, Saturna and I weren't—"

"Widower." Tempest insisted. "And it's been so hard for him, he mourned for so long. If you can imagine, it isn't easy getting back in the saddle, if you know what I mean." And as if that weren't already clear enough. "The Prince has got to be near to bursting after three long… lonely… sweaty—"

"Tempest!"

But the women were giggling and fanning themselves with their hands, blushing. Sunthraze pointed up a few levels, through the glass walls of the Core to where the royal apartments were. "I'd run up there and get at the top of his calendar, and fast, if I were you. We're his Bloodknights, and we can assure you that Kael'thas just went back on the market. Fresh this morning! Just tell Sorn that… Sunthraze the Sly sent you."

Kael'thas blushed while the ladies winked and flirted. Because of the glass ship walls, he was forced to watch the pretty Magisters hurry all the way around the ramp, ride up on the lift, and then down the hallway in the direction of Chief Advisor Sorn's office and the royal bedroom.

"I… hate… both of you."

Kael'thas would have said more but Belorim blinked awake. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Oooh! Birdies!" and pointed up above their heads to the circling phoenixes. The magical birds cheered on seeing the little Prince awaken, sang something that felt light and victorious.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Daddy! How come we never go out like this? It's fun!"

Kael'thas smiled. Belorim smiled too. Sunthraze pinched Tempest for smiling down at the Prince's backside.

"Shall I go write your name at the top of his schedule, myself? Dear?"

"No. Sorry…"

_That night…_

Kael'thas went to bed after everything, feeling uneasy. He'd glanced at the schedule Sorn kept for him. Three pages filled with the names of women who heard the news thanks to Tempest and Sunthraze, rushed to sign up for dates…

A heavy sigh. "That's not me. That's never been me at all… I don't care if it's been three years, this all feels like it's happening too fast."

He wandered to the bed, slipped into his nightclothes. The gargantuan painting of Saturna faced him. Velvet curtains separated them. Kael'thas was tempted to open the painting. That idea, 'beyond the veil'… Well, maybe it was just a crazy dream hallucination Freywinn had not explained to him yet, but still. It was hard to give up hope that maybe Saturna was still there.

"Goodnight Starshine." No answer. Kael'thas did this every night and there never was. At this point, it was mostly routine, a sort of three-year-old ritual… a prayer to his lost, dark angel.

Kael'thas didn't dream. He was exhausted from a day of running after a Demon Huntress, then watching Belorim, then the Demon Huntress _again_, after Tempest and Sunthraze thankfully left off recruiting dates for him. But now, at last, Belorim was safe in the next room and there was nothing left to do but sleep.

That did not come easily. The skilled Bloodmage was restless, got a sense he wasn't alone. Kael'thas felt someone, or something was watching him. Vile magic prickled his skin, made him hot and ache, too intense to be just a dream. A warm breath on his cheek…

It was crouching directly over him.

Kael'thas opened his eyes and watched the thing back.

"Who are you…"

Kael'thas grabbed what he thought was a leg, but it turned out to be an arm. The wrist was small, feminine. The woman was athletic and disciplined. She was perfectly still while Kael'thas reached up and felt more and more of what he could not see. Her calm breathing quickened as he slid fingers over a sweaty shoulder, then down her arched back. The bed creaked softly as Kael'thas knelt beside her. Before long, he realized that she was also kneeling.

"You're someone on my schedule… coming for what you want too early. You're not…" though he didn't believe himself, "…welcome."

"I cannot see so vell here… But I did not expect you to take me, Prince Kael'thas, as a vould a blind man."

His hands slipped carelessly over the naked backside as soon as he recognized the naked hint of profile, of a Kaldorei woman.

"N'shatai!"

"You took too long to learn who I vas. Ze rumors are true zen. You have not known voman in three long years…"

"What are you doing here? What do you want? You're not… on my schedule, are you?"

"You have felt me all over, Kael'thas. You know I come before you, to lay prostrate on hands and knees. Unless… Can it be that you've forgotten ze significance of zis position?"

Kael'thas knew. There wasn't a warlock, or sane man for that matter, who didn't know. He let himself get lost, graced a finger up the back of N'shatai's thigh, thought of where he was sitting behind her, how dangerously alluring she was, and the excellent possibilities…

"This is obviously some trap. Powerful women like you don't freely offer Demon sex… especially not to a warlock. And not to me."

"It is not an offer, Kael'thas. It is a demand. I have searched zis ship. I know vat you keep from Illidan."

Kael'thas froze.

"I can tell Illidan, or you can give me vat I vant now, vhat you have been giving to Demons, but keeping from mortal vomen for three long years… and so save yourself. Ze investigation can be held off for a very long time, Kael'thas. Perhaps indefinitely. Zat is what Mavia knows. You have bribed her too. She stinks of warlock."

If N'shatai thought that Kael'thas was the warlock sleeping with Mavia, then she knew nothing at all. Kael'thas felt the collar burn around his neck. Illidan was behind this…

"Your Lord and Master won't sleep with you? Is that why you want me, N'shatai?" Kael'thas undid his pants.

"Between fellow Demon Hunters, it is forbidden. And zere is also another connection—" her sentence was cut off when Kael'thas grabbed her from behind. He slapped his thighs against hers, rubbed himself along the inside of her leg, teasing, playing. She exhaled softly.

"But you know about our Soul Link. You know that I absorbed much of Illidan's personality, long ago. His thirst for sex and violence together is like mine… You want me to bite you, and fight with you while I take you hard, is that it?" This came out somewhat angry.

It really had been too long. Kael'thas felt himself falling for it too. He moved sweaty palms over the alluring woman's buttocks, and a sweaty cock that felt heavier and stiffened more each time he teased. Before long, both of them rubbing and needing each other, barely holding back…

"You hired ze Legion engineers imprisoned in ze Arcatraz to create ze Void Reaver, and bribed Warden Mellichar to look ze other way."

The shrewd accusation revived Kael'thas. He dug fingernails angrily into N'shatai's hips. "Is that what you would like to know, or what you have already found out?"

It escalated dangerously for him in that moment. N'shatai was uncertain, showed fear. That flicker of her innocence, ignited his desire to take advantage of that and seize her like someone else he once loved many times like this, to thrust deep inside and let the anger well up, savage, then release. And maybe she would save him too, from Illidan and the Legion, and everything else. Kael'thas sneered in the darkness and lay down instead. He used strong arms to move himself underneath N'shatai and lay facing what he wanted. The part of him that threatened to obliterate his control and ruin everything he was trying to accomplish right now, positioned far down from where it could get him into trouble.

N'shatai didn't see it that way though. She licked him.

"Stop it. I don't trust you, and if you do that, I'll kick you in the face." Kael'thas threatened.

"I could threaten you with ze same. It is a bad place for you to put_your_ head…"

But when Kael'thas indulged, N'shatai was incapable of complaining.

He pulled her hips down closer over his face, spoke between firm, long strokes of his tongue. "Tell me… what do you think you know about me… and the Legion?"

"Something vile… Oh!" a ragged breath, "Zomething… Nothing… no, not that… it's hard to say…"

Kael'thas kissed her, worked and licked warmer, deeper before attempting, "You can tell me, precious… something about the Void Reaver, isn't it? If you want me… to keep going…"

N'shatai gasped and pressed herself onto his mouth. Kael'thas gently pushed her away so that he could finish his sentence. "Tell me what you know, N'shatai. Then, I'll give you what you want."

It was a hard deal not to break. Kael'thas could see her better now, smell her, had tasted her. Too long, too long… doing this with a woman who could choose, who might be unwilling and unpredictable, that was an amazing thrill. Kael'thas felt himself smiling. Every conjured Demon woman in the world paled to this. He leaned up to take more, and felt N'shatai bending lower to take him in with her soft lips…

A foot against her jaw. "No. I use you, Demon Huntress, slave of my master. You don't use me."

"Zen vhat are ve doing?"

Kael'thas was overcome and needed release, though he didn't dare cross that line now. He would lose himself completely after waiting for so long... Kael'thas turned and sank his teeth into her thigh. It was well beneath the artery but N'shatai never forgot that he was her enemy. She panicked in stunned terror while he spoke into the wound, sucked.

"Finding out that you, in fact, know nothing at all. I've seduced it out of you, and so I know now that your threats are empty. Nor will I slip up tonight and tell you anything you don't already know… Even if I didn't fall for you wanting me, or having power over me, did you really think I was so hungry for a mortal woman that I wouldn't care about the consequences of giving a Demon Huntress control over my body?" Kael'thas listened to N'shatai rage against him, curse him, growl then buckle and give in. Her voice, her power, was hypnotic. But that was the point, wasn't it? Illidan wanted Kael'thas to fall prey to someone who could counter his warlock powers.

"Raa'tha, ix'atkama pumvas thack. Tamla itzack Olvi'athon. Yi Ishar…" purring, a rolled, grating 'r'. "Ishaaarrr, Kael'thas."

It turned him on. Kael'thas knew exactly what she said in that ancient dialect, and had to shut his eyes against what it meant to him. "Thank you for the compliment. It was kind. No one has ever been able to turn that into…" Kael'thas swallowed. "No, N'shatai. What I need even more than that, is for you to get your treacherous, warlock-hating ass out of my bed."

Kael'thas used magic to put the lights back on. He stood and crossed his arms while N'shatai again dressed—she didn't wear very much and so it did not take very long—and then walked her to the door.

"You are a horrible man, Kael'thas Sunstrider. I hope you get vhat's coming to you."

He laughed at her. "Because I didn't finish? Or, do you hope so because you can't deliver my punishment yourself? You are the very instrument of my downfall, N'shatai, according to Illidan, but you can't even perform a simple investigation." His scowl lightened to a handsome, self-satisfied smirk. "How does it feel to be undone by a warlock, by magics you've sworn to loathe and reject in your Demon Hunter's oath?" He leaned an arm on the doorpost. "Go on, admit it. I'm not just good at what I do, N'shatai. I am better than you could have ever dreamed. It makes you melt."

N'shatai pursed her lips together, but then smiled at him. "You are different, Kael'thas." She reached out to play with the red nightshirt he still wore. N'shatai trailed a finger over the 'K' in the monogram embroidered in the silken breast pocket, then in a circle to make the next letter, the initial of his little-known middle name, "…A compassionate vaarlock. You could have truly hurt me tonight, murdered me for trying to trick you. But you did not. I, your enemy, vas given joy. Even if it vas… cruel joy."

They kissed.

_She has dark features as I have, the fel tattoos on her body. And she is even a Demon Hunter too, Kael'thas. So then, why do you like her more than me? I demand to know._

Kael'thas instantly pushed Illidan's henchwoman away. "Uh…we can't. Please, just go."

N'shatai smiled fiendishly at him. "But I may be tempted to… not find anything incriminating in ze future. If I am further discouraged."

Kael'thas could not get the similarities that Sunthraze and now Illidan had drawn together out of his head though. "No. It's just… so wrong. Besides, he can hear you."

N'shatai raised her eyebrows. She'd gotten carried away, forgotten. And then, she began to wonder about the rest of their encounter.

"Oh you are vile! _Vile_…" and hurried off through his dark apartments to the sliding red glass doors.

"Hey, it's not my fault when this collar wasn't my idea in the first place!" He called after her. "I'm not the one who likes to watch. And by the way, sweetheart, don't you come sneaking into my bedroom again, you conniving spawn of…"

The doors closed and Kael'thas decided to just let it go. N'shatai had so much more power than he did in this situation. No need to really get under her skin when she'd be hanging around Tempest Keep for a while yet. But he'd succeeded at disarming her, she was thrown off the trail. For now.

_I demand an answer, Kael'thas._

_Illidan… I think it's time we finally talked about this. Have you noticed that, over the last three years, you've been getting… clingy, obsessed with me? Sometimes you even suggest that we… well, it's sick! Can you please stop doing it? You are no longer the man I met in Outland almost six years ago, the person I feared and respected so much that I foolishly put blind faith in him. _

_I am still that person._

_No, your madness is eating you alive. You are getting worse… it's disturbing, to say the least. Not that I care, but I'm your warlock. You enslaved me to that task against my will. I might as well tell you, before we both end up in an even worse mess together. You should go get some help._

A pause.

_Kael'thas. You _are_ my help._

Kael'thas groaned in frustration, sat on the bed and pulled at his long hair.

_No I'm not! Stop saying that. We are not friends, we are not brothers, not anything… You put a collar around my neck, and one day I swear I am going to kill for it. And for taking Saturna away from me, and everything else! Don't think that I'll ever forget, Illidan!_

_You are a compassionate warlock. Perhaps you will not forget. But I believe that, in time, you will forgive me. _

"Yes, a weakness of mine I will do everything in my power to keep you from exploiting. Even if I have to go to the greatest lengths to corrupt myself—"

Illidan seized Kael'thas' voice, through the collar. "You will break my heart if you do."

_For you see, Kael'thas, regardless of what you believe, or of our physical limitations… My heart and yours, they are the same. We are kindred spirits, Kael'thas, and not even you can deny that. What you do affects me deeply, and the converse is also true. Sleep well, my friend._

_Well before I go to bed Illidan, you'd better at least accept that N'shatai and you are not the same. So don't you even dare bother me about that insanity again. _

_Actually, she and I have spoken about this before. N'shtai is, in fact, a Stormrage through some distant relation... our shared features and personality, the affinity for dark magics, are no coincidence. It is an authentic resemblance that you found so appealing—_

_SHUT THE HELL UP, ILLIDAN! _


	22. Absence of Starshine

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Absence of Starshine**

"So you see, Saturna… she's a relative of Illidan's. But I didn't know that."

No response.

Kael'thas spun the last few green seeds around on his desk, didn't look at her. "I swear that if I'd known… but it was overwhelming. It's been so _long_. And no one is supposed to know about that prophecy. No one. Well, you'd heard about it, which surprised me at the Black Temple... But I don't even want to explain to you want it really means, now. It's better if you don't. Just know that I can't really help myself…"

_A likely story, from a cheater! First Darthy and now N'shatai? It's like I don't even know you anymore._

He glanced up at the edge of his desk. The transparent ghost woman sitting with her back to him crossed her arms, glared angrily at the far wall.

"Will you please just… accept that I'm sorry? I had to distract N'shatai somehow. And it wasn't even sex, really. Just me… getting carried away…" a very dejected groan. "With someone who might as well be Illidan's sister. They are practically the same person. I'm tempted to ask you to kill me again, over this. Ugh… I feel dirty all over. Saturna, please, talk to me?"

_Kill you again? That was an awful joke to make, just now._

General Blaize was announced then, through the red glass doors.

"Aww…_fuck_!"

_This is what happens when you get high in the middle of the day, Sunshine. What else did you expect?_

Kael'thas lay his head on the down. "If only you'd agreed to sleep with me again just now, after that very, very, very sincere apology, then I could at least say I'm indisposed. Sorn can peer down the hallway and see that I'm sitting at my damned desk." Then Kael'thas thought this over. "Not that I'm blaming you or anything."

_I'm not speaking to you, anymore, Kael'thas Sunstrider._

"Send my fat General in."

General Blaize was frowning at the 'fat' comment, but really hesitated when he saw Kael'thas sitting with his head down on his desk. Without acknowledging him, "What do you want, Blaize?"

"I've got a proposal for you." Blaize took a seat.

"The answer is No."

"That's unfair, and rude. With relations between your Majesty and the Sunfury army already so strained, I think the least you can do is give me more to say to my men than 'Your Prince sat there like a petulant child, and wouldn't even look his me in the eye when I, your General, tried to make peace.'"

Kael'thas sat up. His eyes were bloodshot. Blaize didn't really care enough to ask if he was alright.

Blaize unrolled the contract marked with royal seals, written on enchanted paper, tagged with legal ribbons and authentic clinking gold medallions, "And there is a saying that, if you want peace, you must work for justice."

"You pulled that out of your ass just now, Blaize."

Blaize exhaled, frustrated, through his nostrils. "Because of your mood… your _persistent_ mood, Kael'thas, I'll sum this up for you quickly. This is good news, my Prince. I've found a way for us to finally solve the problem of unrest in the Sunfury army." Blaize reached down and began stacking law books he'd brought with him on the table.

Saturna the ghost crawled over the desk, and imbetween the two men on hands and knees. She began to read the language of the contract for herself. Kael'thas smiled at the woman only he could see.

To the man she was haunting for the moment, _This does look promising, Kael'thas. You should listen to what Blaize has to say. And the least you could do is seem amiable, towards your own General._

Kael'thas brightened, sarcastic and boyish. "Well then it IS good news! Isn't it, Dear? Did I do it just right?"

_You know what, I just remembered that I said I wasn't speaking to you…_

"Impossible for you to ever leave me alone. Hence, your current state. Don't kid yourself, sweetheart."

Blaize flinched. He didn't see anyone else in the room. Unless, Kael'thas was screwing with his head, calling him funny names.

"Well yes… What I have here is very important, Kael'thas. I couldn't keep it to myself. Now have a look at what I found in this law book. In article twelve, dash forty-seven, section B, that outlines the separation of powers…"

"Don't put your book right there, at the edge of the desk. You called me rude, but that's even worse, taking a seat from a lady." And Kael'thas patted the space directly in front of him.

Saturna sat back on her heels. _It's okay, Kael'thas, I'm comfortable here where I can see what's going on._

"Aha! So you _are_ talking to me. I told you. You're obsessed with me. You act like you don't love me anymore, but you do. Admit it."

Wide-eyed, Blaize agreed to place the book where Kael'thas wanted it. "Well, you are… a good man. Deep down. I suppose. I'm loyal to the Prince of Quel'thalas, naturally. Okaaaay… Anyways, there is a loophole as far as leadership is concerned. Normally the monarch possesses powers of state as well as absolute control over the military. But in times of national distress, that can be delegated. And wouldn't you agree that we are in an emergency situation here in Netherstorm, Kael'thas? Your soldiers hear more and more everyday about what's going on with the Legion camps. The Demon troops are regrouping, undoing all the progress we'd made over the last three years. You said yourself that we don't have the resources to send that many men back into the field. But I know it isn't really physical resources we lack, when metal can be mined everywhere in Netherstorm, energy created in a forge from thin air, bread and water conjured… You meant mental resources, brainpower. Landing the final blow against the Legion takes complex strategy that you don't have the time to review with me or approve of, and all the scientists in your Cabinet are engaged in other demanding projects… it's too much, am I right? And you don't have the sort of military advisers your father the King used to. Sorn is a poor substitute for all of that."

"I like Sorn though. But shh… Don't tell him I said that, shhh…" and Kael'thas did a sloppy finger over his lips. "Say, I never asked you, do you like Sorn?"

_He didn't think very much of me at the Black Temple, Sunshine, but I know that he only had your best interests at heart. And the way he watches out for you, it's sort of fatherly. It's sweet. _She giggled, and that had an odd hollow lilt to it which made Kael'thas smile. _Hehe, I remember now how he swore to find your underwear thief. _Saturna scooted closer to Kael'thas and smiled very sweetly at him for a change. _By the way, did you ever happen to find out who was doing it?_

"Well, Kael'thas, I think my feelings on that subject of Sorn being likeable… are really irrelevant. Now, what do you think of my idea? Lady Liadrin assisted me the whole way through, should you doubt my—"

"Oh how adorable of you! You're giggling again… You've not done that in soooo long, Saturna. And no, I never did figure out who stole my underwear. You know, when I looked this morning, I didn't have any."

Saturna but a hand over her mouth, blushed and smiled. _Does that mean? You're not… right now…?_

Kael'thas leaned a chin on his elbow and eased into flirtatious, cheeky laughter. "Heh. Now, how did I know that my biggest fangirl would want to hear something like that? Mmm… but if you still don't believe me, I'll have to show you—"

Blaize stopped being horribly disturbed then. He sat up, placed both hands firmly on the desk in front of him and tried not to smile too much. "Kael'thas. My Prince… are you… could by some miracle, possibly be… high, right now?"

"Oh, Blaize, I am. I am! I guess you haven't heard what I did last night yet. I practically slept with Illidan's sister. I feel so guilty, with Saturna's painting right there in the room, and Belorim just next door. And besides it being disgusting! Aarggh… And then they want me to start dating all these women after tomorrow. I can't do that, I've never been good with women except for Saturna. And she won't event talk to me… well she's just a figment of my imagination, I get that I guess, but I have to be high for her to come around. Do you understand? I really messed up, and I needed a break the hell that is my liiiiife." Kael'thas lay down on the desk again. Saturna the ghost frowned a little, and patted him on the head. "So, you gonna judge me, eh Big Nate the Great that no woman on this ship can shut up about?"

"Are you… jealous of me, Kael'thas?" another eager near-smile.

"Saturna keeps looking at you…"

_Am not! I'm just… sitting here, because you invited me, in your current state. _

"Are too! Must you torture me with this man, in life and in death? I thought you chose

me after the ball, I thought you loved me…"

_If you can sleep with that horrible man's so-called sister, then I can look at my ex-husband. It's only fair._

"You're doing this to make me jealous? Saturna… I couldn't want you more right now, miss you more." Kael'thas began to use a pathetic whimpering voice he clearly saved only for Saturna when they were alone. "Please don't be mad at me anymore. Starshine…"

Blaize barely held his laughter. "Kael'thas, my Prince. I miss Saturna as well. Trust me, I understand. And it's been a long three years for both us, hasn't it? You do deserve a break, that's right." And Blaize reached over, put the black plumed stylus in Kael'thas' hand. "This is a little document I drew up with Lady Liadrin and my lieutenants. It will hand military powers over to me legally for the next thirty-one days, which is long enough to get the soldiers back out into the field and finish off the Legion camps." Blaize stopped himself short. A hungry look flickered across his face. He took the pen back, and flipped the document a few pages, glanced up at Kael'thas to see if he realized what was going on, and then went happily back to his deceptive work. "Let me just add a little something, that will take this entirely off your shoulders so you don't have to worry ever again."

"Really? But aren't I… like the heir or something? To the military, all of Quel'thalas, the throne… something, something…"

While Kael'thas was distracted gazing at Saturna, Saturna leaned over and inspected what Blaize was writing.

_Sunshine, he's crossing out… the time period. From thirty-one days to… indefinitely. All of Quel'thalas and its holdings… to be turned over to… King… Nathaniel Blaize. No!_

"Now, just initial where I made the proper changes, so everyone will know you saw and accepted those minor adjustments… There you are. Now, sign here on the line. It's magical paper by the way, as are all royal documents. It can't be erased, or destroyed, just put up in a pretty frame for the world to see just how unworthy you are."

_Kael'thas! Don't sign that!_

"No, it's fine, Starshine. I'm really good at writing my name, I can do it. See?" then coy, "Do you like that, when I write my name for you?"

Saturna was alarmed. She watched Blaize grin at his helpless indisposed Prince, proud of how well he was taking advantage of Kael'thas in his grief. The damning scratch of the pen filled up the entire room.

_Oh Kael'thas… There is never a good time to eat Freywinn's seeds, or do arcane crystals, or abuse Demon magic. Kael'thas, you fool… I am so disappointed in you. Did I spare Belorim an afterlife with his mother, for this?_

Blaize stood, beaming now. "Kael'thas, you have no idea… thank you. Oh bless you, you magnanimous junkie."

"You're welcome. I guess. Saturna, come on, I don't want to argue about Belorim anymore… so tired." And Kael'thas lay his head down once more.

Blaize made for the door and quick. Saturna stood on the desk, hands balled into fists at her sides.

_No Blaize, I don't think so…NO ONE MESSES WITH MY SUNSHINE!_

The Keep alarm system went off, and Blaize couldn't get the doors open. He shouted and banged on the red glass.

Saturna faded in an instant, and reappeared in Belorim's room. _Bim Bim wake up! Daddy needs us…_

Meanwhile, Blaize was getting nervous, stuck in Kael'thas' office. He considered breaking the glass doors, but realized that would make him look like a thief, to go breaking windows and rushing out with an illegal document wedged under his arm.

And funny that just as Blaize was thinking it,

"Teef! Teef! Help!"

_It's pronounced 'thief', Belorim. _And Saturna sounded it out for her son.

"Thief! Thieeeeeeeeeeeef!"

Blaize flinched at the little boy running around in his little royal pajamas, throwing things at him.

"You little miscreant! What are you throwing at me?!"

_Bim Bim, over here. Be sure to put some of it in his bag, with the law books…_

"Is this… underwear? Why are you throwing dirty laundry at me? Whose is this!" Blaize freaked out.

Sorn came rushing through the doors immediately after, with a slew of Sunfury guards. They nearly ran over Blaize. His sinister contract, the law books, everything scattered on the floor.

"Six alarms means that there was an attempt on the Prince's life, from inside of his quarters. Spread out and find the perpetrator."

"Sorn! Look! Sooooorn. Blaize is a teef! A teef! He stoled my Daddy's underwear!"

Kael'thas was snoring loudly by now.

Sorn took this seriously though. He made a gesture to one of the guards that Blaize tried to prevent seizing him but couldn't. The Chief Advisor had precedence here, when a certain royal life was at stake. Blaize swore, he didn't fully understand, but knew for a fact that it wasn't his fault.

"I seed him do it Sorn!"

_That is, you saw him. Blaize gave your father the seeds…_

"And made my Daddy silly so dat…"

_He would sign the papers. But it wasn't about the papers, really..._

"He was mean, he was going to sell the underwears to the Goblins! I heared everything from my room!" Belorim stamped his foot at the end, put little fists on his hips.

Sorn frowned at Blaize. "And so this must mean that you were the one all along! Stealing the Prince's underwear, his personal belongings this entire time. We never suspected you, General, the perfect crime indeed!"

"The HELL! Why would ever I do something like that… "

_Maybe because…_And Saturna stroked a hand over Kael'thas' head as he dozed, _you couldn't stand being so near but yet so far away. You miss his caresses, his sweet words, even his lies. Even the hurt between us was excellent, wasn't it Sunshine? The least I could do was make myself known._

"Is THAT really what I'm being accused of? By the Sun, Advisor Sorn, you must be out of your mind!"

Belorim made his eyes big and pouted, tugged Sorn's robes.

"Oh, my poor little Princes! You must be out of your mind as well, Blaize, if you think that you can use your clout to barge in here, make a fool of our Prince with your strange love-hate fetish… What are you, some sick Olvi'athon? Ugh, I can't stand to even think of it. What an odd and horrific way to get revenge upon your employer. Please, just take him away."

Blaize was dragged from the royal apartments, kicking, swearing at the top of his lungs.

Saturna the ghost watched, slightly amused, as healers were brought in, her passed out lover examined. Belorim giggled and cheered over and over that 'Mommy saved the daaaay!' but Kael'thas was too far gone to hear it. Saturna whispered to their sick son to go back to bed, which he did after a lot of pouting. When Sorn saw the Prince's bloodshot eyes, he made everyone get out on short order. The Chief Advisor's subsequent yelling did nothing to rouse Kael'thas from his stupor though, and the black coffee that was brought only woke him up, did not stave off the underlying depression. Sorn knew of only one person capable of fixing things.

_Frantic moments later…_

Lady Liadrin strode into the office. She summoned a golden Seal of Righteousness spell that sang out in a clear note, formed a winged corona between them, and while Kael'thas simply watched, unleashed the full wrath of it on his head.

"Argh! Gods woman, what is wrong with you! I'm awake already! Bloodknights aren't supposed to… judge their own Princes."

"Well I've done it anyway, and a good thing too because you have been found wanting." She drew the Whiteblade. "Now account for your actions here and now. Did you really get yourself high in the middle of the day… with your son weary and recovering in the next room?!"

"He's just sleeping… and besides Saturna's watching me. I wasn't going to get into any trouble."

Liadrin could have judged Kael'thas again, with her stiff morals, her lofty opinions this time. But she pulled up a chair and spoke softly. "Kael'thas, I am going to ask you something, and you must try very hard to answer it as honestly as possible. Please do this for me."

"I can't promise you anything—"

"Do you indulge in Freywinn's seeds… because it makes you see Saturna?"

He hesitated, leaned in as if sharing a great secret. "I'm not being made to see anything, though. At first I thought I was but… I swear, Liadrin, even if you don't believe me. I think she's really here, somehow."

_Oh, Kael'thas…Sweetheart! Yes, I'm here. I'm struggling, this afterlife is so horrible, but if I can be with you…_

"Saturna can't be with you. She can't because she's dead and gone. It hurts me as well, Kael'thas, but you must accept this. If not for yourself, then for your son. Now, I promised… myself, that is, that if you couldn't be the right kind of father for Belorim, I would take him away, back to Silvermoon. Do you want that? It isn't safe for him when you get like this, it isn't right, Kael'thas! Please do not force my hand."

"But I can feel her, Liadrin! She speaks to me—"

"The Saturna Whiteblade that I know would not appear to you as a ghost when you're abusing magic like this. She would not encourage you to hurt yourself or your son because she selfishly wants to be noticed. She would not torture you from beyond the afterlife. That is simply cruel. Don't you think so? Let that be your proof that she is gone, if you can't take my word for it. The good life she lived should be evidence enough."

At the edge of the desk, translucent Saturna looked from her Matriarch to the man she loved. Kael'thas met her eye.

"Say goodbye to her, Kael'thas. For the last time. Please, you must let Saturna go."

He held his head in hands. Saturna saw it and ached for Kael'thas, that he was not strong enough.

_I'm so sorry, Sunshine. I never meant… to hurt you…_

Liadrin reached over and placed a hand on Kael'thas' shoulder. "Now, how do you feel?"

"She left me. Saturna's gone." Kael'thas was anguished.

"I'm glad that you could let her go, and I know it hurts. It was for the best."

Liadrin got up and walked around the desk. She reached past Kael'thas and pulled out all of the drawers, turned them over, felt the creases in the wood and plucked out every last seed he had hidden there. She took her time while Kael'thas recovered, numb, and eventually came across the contract Blaize had dropped on the floor.

The Bloodknight Matriarch noticed the initialing on the final page, the crossed out amendment that made Blaize legally, the King of Quel'thalas.

"What's that you've got? Something that fell from my desk?"

Liadrin had to hold onto the wall, the shock of the betrayal was immense. All their hard work together, twisted to Blaize's advantage, against everything she stood for as a Bloodknight, Anasterian's confessor, a friend to Kael'thas. Did he value her so little? Was the secret she shared with Blaize so insignificant in his eyes? It was the single event that ruined her life, and she barely recovered from it. Only for the man she'd loved, longed for all these years to throw it back in her face!

Liadrin gathered herself and tried to rip the contract apart. But she and Blaize had worked on the document together, went through every precaution to make it official and presentable to Kael'thas. Liadrin already knew that it could not be destroyed, according to Thalassian military tradition.

"I'm going to put it away, where no one will ever see it again. It's just silliness Kael'thas… something of mine I dropped. On the way, in that is." Something she hadn't really thought Blaize was capable of.

Even while Kael'thas leaned over with both hands desperately clutching mussed hair, "Is there something else wrong, Liadrin? You're worrying me. Please tell me whatever it is, because you're starting to look worse than I feel, after using those stupid, stupid seeds that I will never indulge in again. I can't apologize enough."

"No. I am the one who owes you an apology." At the door, Liadrin glanced over her shoulder. "I made the mistake of forcing one of your enemies to save you. That was misguided of me, and selfish. I hope that you can forgive me."

Kael'thas replied, "I will always hold you in highest regard, Lady Liadrin, after you were so good to my father, and then after bringing my son to me. As for the other thing… everyone here is my enemy, in a way. I'm always prepared for disappointments."

"And… I should also apologize for something else… About your father—"

"He taught me so many things, Lady Liadrin. About being a good leader, and a man. Knowing that he, at least, is still with me in some way. That is all that keeps me going sometimes. But if my father, Anasterian Sunstrider himself, with all his little quirks and big scandals, was able to do raise a son alone—because we all know my step mother Celestia was no kind of help—and rule a kingdom, then I know I can too."

Kael'thas was mature enough to know better than seek approval from strangers. But he still needed it.

"Light Bless and keep you, My Prince. For, it truly isn't easy for you. No one else seems to be worthy of your friendship. Not one person understands or truly respects you, here in Tempest Keep and I think I finally understand that now. Forgive me for trying to force events that do not belong to me, but to you."

"You are a good person. I believe that you want to be sincere with me. Thank you."

"No such thing as good people. I know, horrible for a Bloodknight to say, but it's true Kael'thas. Nobody is perfect. Please be very careful who you put up on pedestals." She rolled up the defiled contract. "Good night."

Though he knew better, Kael'thas waited to see if Saturna would come back after Liadrin left. He secretly hoped that it wasn't the drugs, that she would do it on her own, out of love, not to torture him the way Liadrin said. But the room was emptier now then he ever felt before.

"It must be… for the best," Kael'thas said, but did not believe it.

_Belorim._

_Yes, Mommy?_

_I am going to go away for a while. Maybe a long, long time… I need you to watch over your father for me._

_Are you coming back? _The boy began to cry.

_I would like to, but the problem is, I'm not meant to be here in the first place. _

_Mommy, don't leave me. Please…When you go away, I feel sick again because all you do is cry. When you get sad, it hurts…_

_My dearest son. I leave you to your life, and Kael'thas to his… and I will go to… wherever Anveena meant for me to exist, between death and life, haunting you but never able to have your father… No place at all._

"Mommy!"

Kael'thas came into his son's bedroom. "Son, you're supposed to be sleeping."

Belorim looked at his father, was tempted to tell him everything.

_Do not tell him. I already tried and it only hurt your father. Do you want to lose your Daddy, Belorim? He will only be tortured knowing that I have not passed on, but yet he still cannot have me, nor I him. It will make him sick in his heart, in his soul…_

_But right now I don't feel good. I don't wanna lie to Daddy anymore._

_Please. Mind me. You only listen when it's fun for you, don't you? But I am asking you, my little man, my Prince, to do as I say just one more time. This is important. _

Belorim started coughing. Kael'thas knelt by the bed, took his son's hand. "Bim? Is everything alright? Do you want me to call the nurses back?"

He frowned and sank back into the pillows, said nothing.

_From the bottom of my heart, thank you Bim. Goodbye, my precious… be good._

"You know…" Kael'thas tried to approach his son's feelings in a different way, "I don't hear from your imaginary friend very much anymore. Not since you starting having the nightmares? Did you lose her somewhere, maybe? I can help you find her." Kael'thas took his son by the hand and they walked all through the royal apartments.

Kael'thas checked Belorim's room, then his own. He went in closets, then under the couch… this silly place to look didn't make Belorim laugh like he'd hoped. Finally, Kael'thas got desperate. He'd never seen his son so sad. Too upset to even say anything, to fight back.

"Oh… here she is." He pretended, and pretended to see someone out on the balcony. He opened the red glass doors and escorted the imaginary lady back inside. "Isn't that silly, Bim? She was there the whole time, watching us and… laughing at us worry about her. Now don't you want to say Hi? That's what friends do, say Hello, ask how each other is doing…"

"I don't wanna!"

"Why not?"

"Because she's gone! You scared her away. It's all your fault! I hate you!" and he ran back to his room.

Pain. It welled up in his chest, made his heart race, then nothing. His own son hated him. No, children could say awful things that they didn't mean. It was because he often insisted that his son's imaginary friend didn't exist, ruined it for him. And that had been the boy's right to dream… about someone like his mother.

Kael'thas stood there and trembled. He wished for the seeds, he wished for Saturna, for everything to just stop so he could get a breath. How was he supposed to deal with this? This awful rejection from his own son. What if he'd ruined Belorim's short life, what if…

Illidan spoke in his mind. _Kael'thas._

Kael'thas looked at the balcony in mute shock, couldn't answer.

Illidan used the collar. He made Kael'thas walk to the red glass doors, then down the hallway to Sorn's office. The Chief Advisor looked up at his Prince curiously, asked what was wrong.

"I need… to take a personal day tomorrow. Cancel everything. Have the Bloodknights watch Belorim."

Sorn was suspicious of the request because Kael'thas never made arrangements when he wanted to escape, he just did it. Selfish and arrogant, yes, but Kael'thas never explained when he needed time off because he felt entitled, refused to consult Sorn about it.

Sorn did as he was told. "Alright… anything else, your Majesty?"

"Yes. Change the locks on the painting, it upsets me. And remind me to summon Ruthsalia in the morning."

"Kael'thas! That is personal, even I have my limits…"

"Damn you, Sorn! Do as I say, should I become displeased with you, and rip you to pieces!"

Sorn got it. "Yes… Lord Illidan."

"We will all work together on this. Do not share what I say next with anyone else. I only confer it to you because you have great skill in managing the Prince's affairs, and mood." Illidan paused, truly unsettled. "Have his balcony sealed up. I do not like how Kael'thas looked at it just now, with longing for the sky… to throw himself over the edge."

Sorn gripped the edge of his desk. "I… Oh no, my Prince… yes, Lord Illidan, absolutely."

"And if Freywinn comes around with his seeds again. Have him executed."

Sorn hardly got out the final nod of assent. Unable to help himself, he took Kael'thas in a firm hug. Sorn didn't care who possessed his Prince at the moment, it didn't matter. Illidan relaxed his hold...

Kael'thas came to, hugging his Advisor. He didn't welcome it at first, he didn't understand. But then pain became overwhelming, he remembered all that he and Sorn had been through together, since the fall of Silvermoon, then at the Black Temple and beyond… and wept.

"Never think that you don't have good friends, Kael'thas. I heard what you told Lady Liadrin. We are not all your enemies. Especially me. Do you really think I do this for the money? Or maybe to keep myself young and fresh?"

Kael'thas' sorrow turned to laughter. "Thank you, Sorn. I almost…"

"Thank Illidan. Whether you want to accept it or not, you be grateful to that man." Sorn stacked papers on his desk and went back to work. "Oh, and you have a personal day scheduled for tomorrow. Nothing but entertaining things for our beloved Sovereign. A chance for you to relax."

Kael'thas went back to his apartments to find carpenters boarding up the balcony. He felt ashamed, but did not tell them to stop.

_I'll be watching you, Kael'thas. Don't worry. For now, would like me to leave?_

Illidan had never asked him that before. And Kael'thas found that he didn't know what to say, afterall. He got in bed with all his clothes on and pulled the covers up over his head.

_She's finally gone, Illidan. My Starshine is gone forever and this is what I have left. There is nothing else you can do._

Yes, there was. That Illidan was capable of it surprised Kael'thas. _Until tomorrow then…_


	23. Vakka zu taxka

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Vakka zu taxka**

N'shatai lifted her chin and drew both Demon Hunter blades on Kael'thas. While Mavia could only seethe and watch, she pronounced in a loud voice,

"Mighty Lord and Master Illidan Stormrage. I have discovered that treacherous Kael'thas has been consortink with ze Burning Legion. Fennore ze Immortal and Mavia ze Maneater have been helpink him to confuse and quell ze rumors, even sowing distrust and corruption among his own Bloodknights to do so. Furthermore—"

Mavia turned her whip on the woman. The Demon snarl resounded off the walls of Kael'thas' bedroom. "Lord Illidan is not here."

Kael'thas' very subdued, muffled voice came next, "Exaaaactly. You tell 'er Mavia."

"And I can tell that you are only doing this to save face, N'shatai." Mavia spoke the Night Elf woman's name through clenched teeth, "Overly conscious of making the same mistake about the Prince's Soul Link twice."

N'shatai had been gazing at Kael'thas lying on his bed and blushed at Mavia's accurate deduction of the events in that very room a night ago. Now, Kael'thas was stripped and face down in a pillow. The bedroom bedecked with calming blue candles, a silver tray of fruit that Kael'thas plucked and ate. A glass of rich red wine was set next to that. All things Sorn insisted a Prince should have—or really, what was implied was that if Kael'thas was in Silvermoon, as he was meant to be, then he could enjoy these things all the time and never have such problems with stress. Ruthsalia's contribution was the hazy fel green incense that seemed only to relax the warlock during his massage. Ruthie the golden succubus rubbed oil into Kael'thas' shoulders now, and his brow creased as she did it. He both enjoyed and resisted how everyone was helping him. Kael'thas the warlock valued his anger, the tension in his life. It enabled him to attack and torture his enemies without mercy. But right now, under orders of Lord Illidan, Kael'thas was being made to relax for his health. Chief Advisor Sorn and even Lady Liadrin found herself in complete agreement with the Demon Lord as well.

There were rumors that the pressure of failure finally got to Prince Kael'thas and he gave up, got high, and stayed that way all of yesterday, talking to Saturna Whiteblade as if she still lived. Everyone also knew that Belorim was often sick and having nightmares, and then the fiasco with General Blaize compounded everything still further. Sunfury soldiers caught wind of the bad news and threatened to mutiny over what sounded like ridiculous charges… That their beloved champion Nate Blaize had been caught stealing the Prince's underwear? Lieutenants Dacian and Falx barely held everyone together as it was… and Kael'thas knew very well that was mostly because it couldn't be made clear what Blaize wanted them to do yet, confined as he was at the moment to a room with bars in the Arcatraz.

Belorim was sad after yesterday for some reason, but feeling better. The Bloodknights took that first opportunity, before Kael'thas' enforced day of de-stressing, whether the little Prince felt like it or not, to take the boy outside into the Foyer, play games, pet phoenixes in the Core. Kael'thas badly needed a reprieve, though he loved his son and objected to all the attention at first.

But there were still things that only the slave of Illidan Stormrage could see to, however.

Ruthsalia was too mindlessly absorbed in comforting her beloved master, which was her specialty, to spook very much at Kael'thas' two mean guests. Ruthie gave N'shatai a jealous look and readjusted the towel that modestly covered Kael'thas' backside.

Mavia smirked. "Will you deny that mating took place here, N'shatia, between you and Master Kael'thas. I dare to you lie, in the presence of two skilled succubae."

N'shatai couldn't deny it, though she tried. "It vas not exactly—"

"Then you are speaking jealous reckless falsehoods, to spite the man who shrewdly rejected you, and your nemesis! And that you have come here, into the house of my Prince to do harm…"

Kael'thas grimaced in pain then. The collar was bothering him. "Mavia… stop confusing the issues…" contented sighs between his words, "…and angering Illidan at that. I'm flattered that you've become so fond of me under this roof… but never forget whose… you… are. Aaah…" He let his arms hang over the foot of the bed, where he faced, and smiled. Ruthsalia straddled him and moved still lower, to get at a knot in his lower back.

N'shatai breathed through her mouth as she watched. Mavia put a hand on her hip and shoved N'shatai with the other one.

"Do not touch me, Legion spawn!"

"I belong to Lord Illidan now, as Prince Kael'thas says. You are the one confused with your affiliation, the way you ogle him. The Master would be furious with you if he could see."

"Which Master? Ze one ve hail from, or ze one you keep slipping your tongue vith, claiming for your own!"

Kael'thas reached around and pulled blonde hair away from his face. He eased into a detached-from-reality smile that was maybe too bright for him. Clearly Ruthsalia was burning more than incense in the room for Kael'thas. Someone like her would be irresponsible and go against Lady Liadrin's wishes just to please her warlock, tempt his better nature into oblivion. Mavia hissed at Ruthsalia, and the two succubae had a brief animalistic back and forth with teeth bared.

Oblivion. Mavia recalled Fennore then, smiled to herself that she understood that sort of loyalty, and let it go.

Kael'thas laughed too easily, and too loud, reached for Ruthsalia's golden hands and was given them.

He spoke between her little reward kisses. "Illidan is… my master, and your master…" a sigh too happy to ever be associated with the idea of Illidan Stormrage. The special warlock mood concoction Ruthsalia mixed made Kael'thas too happy, loosened his deep admiration for the full Demon Lord and that unrivaled power Illidan possessed over his soul. "We serve the same great man. I hate Illidan, but I also… honor him, worship him. _Need_ him."

_Once more, I like your Ruthsalia, Kael'thas, very much. She brings out the best in you. Also, why are you holding a meeting against my wishes? You are meant to relax today, brother._

Kael'thas seemed to hear something unsettling through his collar then and frowned as he put his mean face back on. "But there is a fundamental difference between you and I. Among all of Illidan's slaves I have the highest rank. Illidan likes me best. Therefore, I am more valuable to him than you, N'shatai, and especially you, Mavia." Kael'thas flared at her there, for perhaps more secret reasons. "Therefore, you will obey my command to not fight each other in my Keep, make your rivalry take precedence over work that needs to be done. Do I make myself clear?"

N'shatai hesitated because the spiked incense and his flash of anger combined got Kael'thas too rapt then, cavalier. He turned over. Mavia looked like she wanted to hit N'shatai another time for eyeing her master's master so disrespectfully, but in the end, remained loyal to Kael'thas' most recent command.

Ruthsalia had started purring, and did a coy wagging of her tail while fetching her master's towel back from where it slipped to the carpeted floor.

When he was redressed, "Now get out of my sight. I had better not hear any more complaints from Fennore about you two getting at each other's throats."

Fennore had not come because he knew better than to expose the entire coven and its secrets to a skilled Demon Huntress. Better to be safe and hand problems to his master this time around, than try and disseminate them on his own.

"One last thing." N'shatai bristled before leaving. "I hope zat _you_ heed my varnings, Kael'thas. "I know zat zere is some truth to vat I've observed of your Bloodknights. I shall find ze connection between vat you've been doink vith them, the Void Reaver, and the Legion."

"I'll kill you first—"

Kael'thas snapped something in Demonic for Mavia to be quiet.

"And I also vish to warn you, especially, Kael'thas… Zat zere is an Olvi'athon on zis ship."

Kael'thas stopped lounging and leaned up on a tense arm, dared her.

"… he vill destroy himself and endanger everyone else if he continues to indulge. Strain, zen snap vat little hold he has over those who are beink maneepulated here, like puppets. And zey vill turn on him, Kael'thas, destroy him and everythink in zis precious ship."

Kael'thas rolled his eyes and lay back down, unable to confirm or deny her accusations in Illidan's everpresence. Mavia truly hated hearing this, though and barked,

"Vakka zu taxka'ranni damfitz'hu, Nak!"

It was the one dialect of Demonic that N'shatai did not understand, and it enraged her that Mavia insulted her and she could do nothing about it. Kael'thas lay very still, daring not to betray the surge of emotion it stirred in him, while he listened to the women argue in fading voices… Then, somewhere out there, the red glass doors of his apartments clinked shut.

Ruthsalia knew as well. She lay down next to her master, the massage done, and obediently waited to see what he would do with that precious revelation. Through the Soul Link, Kael'thas sensed that Illidan was waiting too.

Kael'thas kissed his succubus, though he wasn't ready to forget about seeing Saturna leave him absolutely, hallucination or no, just yesterday. He needed the distraction.

"Ruthie."

"Yes, Master?"

"Have you got any more of that warlock-catnip?" his smile tense, his comfort in that situation an act. She licked the side of his face with her little tongue, and waltzed off through the tangy green haze of burning felweed, brimstone, and who knows what else. When the incense was going strongly again and she re-emerged, Kael'thas let Ruthie crawl on top of him, let her have her way, indulge, then,

"Illidan's gone, for now." Kael'thas stopped posturing and explained, "After yesterday, I guilted him a bit for indulging in one of his nastier pastimes with me."

Ruthsalia nodded. Kael'thas trailed fingertips up and down her bare back. She was more intense now against the backdrop of dusky green smoke, more yellow.

"…you know where I am about to go, and who I need to speak to, right away. Can I trust to you continue on as if I were still in here with you?" The answer to that was a faithful yes.

"Good then." Kael'thas remained eerily calm the entire time he stood in the middle of the floor, conjured. Right at the last moment though, he flinched, motioned for Ruthsalia to toss him something to wear. She laughed and almost didn't.

_Moments later…_

Mavia the Maneater paused before turning a corner to stalk N'shatai further. She felt the pull of burning magic deep in the core of her being. It was more urgent than ever before. Normally, they understood how many masters she was juggling and were lenient when all they wanted were updates, to be appraised of Illidan's standing. But now—and Mavia cowered in fear at the thought of losing Fennore and everything, so fast, when she hadn't yet worked up the courage to tell him—she was being called to battle.

_Vakka zu taxka,_ the Demon magic formed its own hollow voice in her mind. Literally, 'the Legion take you.' May they defeat you, have dominion over your soul, contort your happiness, summon you forever, damn you always.

Mavia shut her eyes against it, then gave in. It felt like the power of the Burning Legion was ripping her apart.

As soon as solid ground was again beneath her tiny hooves, Mavia bent on hands and knees, lay prostrate. Hailed and thanked him for sparing her, for valuing her life even this little, for granting her the semblance of freedom, even if a succubus like her could never truly be free.

"Hail to thee Kil'jaeden. My one true Lord and Master. Darkest King of Outland, and all other worlds, conquered and unconquered, engineer of tribulation seen and yet unseen. Destroyer, Ruinator, he who blackens blood…"

"Mavia, really, I'm flattered. I knew that you were loyal, but not that you were so very fond of me."

It was Kael'thas speaking to her. He sat cross-legged in the center of a strange demonic rune. Mavia shook with fear as she followed the seething red lei lines all over the room, along the floors, over the walls, on the ceiling, through the air. They converged at the head of the many-dimensional pentagram in a skull set up on fel iron pillar. It was so laden with vile magic that it had burnt itself black.

"My Prince!"

"Your nothing." He rested wrists casually on his bare knees. Looked especially malignant with the red lights casting shadows over his twisted form so. "Not truly your Coven Master, am I? Not really your partner in all things against Illidan or anyone who opposes the Coven of Two. But Kil'jaeden is the real one… I've been studying the rare dialect of Demonic that only officers of the Burning Legion use. To believe that I could missed this rare opportunity so easily if I hadn't invested in knowing things that not even Illidan himself knows. You are a traitor to us in the worst possible way, aren't you?" an intrigued, sick smile.

"I beg of you, Kael'thas! This is not what it seems. I was forced hundreds of years ago, it was the only way…"

"And the best part is, Illidan doesn't even know. You aren't an honorable Legion defector. You are a double agent. That is how you always found a way to make yourself useful, indispensable to him, am I right?"

She explained that it broke certain vows for her to confirm.

"Of course it does. Kil'jaeden has put a leash on you, in much the same way that Illidan has put a collar on me. Can he hear us right now?"

"No." To her unease, Kael'thas seemed unhappy to hear this.

"Then it is only a rope, a way to yank you back through the Nether, where a warlock master or a full Demon Lord would never suspect because succubae are inclined to do that anyway, desummon into thin air when they are not needed."

"I am always needed, however. I must remain ready to do his will at any moment. Master Kael'thas, if Kil'jaeden were to summon me right now, and discovered that you deciphered the sequence, usurped his link with me, then…"

"He would find me. And speak to me face to face, for once. And I could tell him that I want to join him, and get away from Illidan come hell or high water."

Mavia bowed her head. It is said that succubae cannot cry. But she crumbled and shuddered. The dark tears stained her arms.

"Please, Kael'thas, please. I have done this for so long because it was the only way I could find not to belong to all of them, by agreeing to be his alone. Don't make go back to the abuse of the full Legion as their plaything, do not ask me to help you. Because I know that you would take me with you, all of us! I do not wish that upon my friends!"

He leaned closer to Mavia, whispered in her ear, almost sensuous. "Don't worry. My Bloodknights, the lingering Sunfury… they are not your friends. I will only take you—my lovely, my treacherous Maneater, my key to salvation—your master Fennore, to control you, and then my son." Mavia wailed ragged over his words, gave into her terror. "The three of us free to hate, and destroy, and corrupt whatever we please, Mavia. The Legion is but a means to more magic, Demonness, do not fear. It is a tool we can use, and I have been studying for a long time just to use them. Even better, my diligence did not go unnoticed. Kil'jaeden, contacted me some time ago, promised me justice, at last. After all these years, I am on the cusp of it. Illidan will die first, then Arthas, Lady Vashj, then the Alliance…"

"It is not that simple—"

"I know it isn't. That is why I took the risk and summoned you in this way, so that we could be alone and you could not deny it." Kael'thas leaned back on his arms. He was sweaty from the work of conjuring and nude in the towel, dared to look handsome though what he was about to have her do was so very ugly. Evident as well, was the unabashed thrill he got from letting the powerful magic in the room course through him, how he enjoyed exposing himself to it. "Now, I want you tell me everything you know about joining the Burning Legion. What must I do?"

Mavia clawed the ground, banged her fists into it and swore. She screamed with rage at him. "I have sworn loyalty to you, my Prince, and you are asking me to do something that will only hurt you in the end. Do you know how this pains me? You are twisting my bond with Fennore like a knife in my heart…"

"Then let me twist it still more. Refuse to tell me what I want, and I will bring N'shatai's long-accurate findings about your duplicitous loyalty before Lord Illidan. And I know Illidan, he's waiting for a chance to see me pleased with him. Fennore will hate you, as I will also pretend to hate you, for betraying the Coven of Two. Illidan will surely beat and kill you, in the best case. The worse fate, of course, is to live—as I well know through my experience with Ruthsalia—without ever seeing your beloved master again. That is the worst pit of hell for a succubus. Now choose."

Mavia sat back on her heels, hands placed firmly between her hooves, flat against her stomach like dog. And that is exactly how she felt, once again no better than some powerful man's trained bitch.

"It alarms me, my Prince, that Kil'jaeden has been speaking with you directly. This is something he never does. Are you sure it was truly him?" Kael'thas glared at her. "Then… in this case, it must mean that he truly favors you. If that is true, then the only thing left is to forfeit your soul."

"My soul? Do you mean literally?" And Kael'thas asked this so scientifically, as if all he was considering was the means by which he could extract and prepare that precious piece of himself for handing over.

"Your life, your dignity, your sense of what is right and what is wrong. You bring who you thought you were before Kil'jaeden, like an offering. Then he burns his mark into your flesh. Only you and others like you, who have submitted themselves can see it. Mine… was carved with hot knives, all over my body. That is what N'shatai has always sensed about me, through her divining. I am mutilated, destroyed, but no one else knows this. Except for him… and now you. Once that is done, Kael'thas, you are his slave. A slave above all other slaves, even over free men in Outland and Azeroth, beyond in other virgin worlds, because that is the power you will wield. Kil'jaeden is shrewd, he will give you that and more, will want you to serve in a way you can excel at."

Eagerly, "He will grant me full power to destroy Illidan, then, exactly what I want. And also Arthas."

Mavia shook her head. "Arthas is the Lich King. Did you know this, Kael'thas? Among servants of the Legion, this is common knowledge. I doubt that Kil'jaeden will truly allow you to kill him. He will let you think that, string you along with that temptation forever, but most likely Kil'jaeden will only have you compete with him, so that you will work even harder."

"I would be allied with the man who killed my father."

"If that is who you wish to become. Then, yes."

Kael'thas sat up straight. He felt the burn of his father's death gaze, through the enchanted skull on his shoulder and had to turn and look at it.

"Is your hate for Illidan stronger than your reverence for your father, your love for Saturna Whiteblade? That is what you must ask yourself, my Prince. For when you give into the Legion, you will come to hate many things. That is all you will know. If you want to sell your soul for what you think is justice… be sure as death that it is. And Belorim will be corrupted also, as you grow in power. His soul must be worth it also, if Kil'jaeden will even stand to let you care for a child in his presence."

Kael'thas wrung his hands together, then chewed a thumbnail. He wasn't going to say it, that he feared what Mavia had said.

Vaguely, "We will keep meeting like this, I need to stay informed. You made the right decision, Mavia, by telling me. Come what may, Fennore will be pleased that you wanted to honor him, in the end."

"No, you are lying to me. You do not really believe that, Master Kael'thas, nor do you care what I feel for the man who is your only friend. I have seen how the others in the Blood Nexus either fear or think ill of you. I know."

He eyed her suspiciously. "Is that what it's called? The Blood Nexus." Kael'thas thought about how that sounded, whether or not he liked it, trusted the implications of the name. "Mavia, how are you able to hear what the Blood Nexus plans to do for or against their Prince? Liadrin would never allow it."

The hum of the ominous fel run filled up the silence that followed. Mavia's eyes flickered as she watched Kael'thas. She feared and hated him, but also… loved and honored him. As did Fennore. As did everyone else.

"Fennore wishes me to learn as much as I can from them, because he has made me a Bloodknight. I wish to join their ranks, to feel stronger, safe."

Kael'thas put his head in hands. "By the Sun… you meant that, didn't you. Ugh, Fennore is either an idiot, or a genius… and madness is so close to genius. Mavia, I'm telling you right now that I think this is a bad idea. A succubus isn't made for this sort of thing. How can you even wield the Light?" then he realized how Fennore could have trained her, and promptly asked the creepy Bloodknight's lover not that share that information after all.

He went back to chewing his thumbnail, snarling anxiously. "Of course Fennore can't find out how I know you're a Bloodknight. Fine, then, but don't get carried away. And while I'm on the subject, don't harass N'shatai, like I said. I couldn't possibly be any more explicit about my feelings on the matter. I know that you two have long been enemies but she is too dangerous for you to bait in this situation. Leave her alone. Leave her to me. You and Fennore stick to keeping the Nexus distracted from what I've been doing with the Legion around here."

Trying to lessen the tension between them in true succubus fashion, "When_you_ distracted N'shatai last night… was that good? I can show you how to completely ruin her."

Kael'thas tried desperately to get off the topic.

"I am a skilled succubus, I know. Maneaters and Demon Hunters are not allowed to consort in the same circles under Illidan. I was allowed to beat any of his minions but not her, never her. I've dreamed of it though, I have the perfect way for you to make her whimper and scream—"

"Mavia, stop. Maybe you don't mean to seduce me right now…" he fumbled, "But it's working. And I don't want to feel that way towards N'shatai. Ever again in my life."

"So you are pleased with Illidan's sister—"

"She is NOT his sister!"

"But that is what we all call her. Tell me, is it what I'm sensing, the resemblance, the cruel way in which she treats you…"

_Master Kael'thas._

_Yes, Ruthsalia?  
_

_Advisor Sorn has begun to look for you. There is something important taking place on the Bridge. Something about Pathaleon, and a launch entertainment…?_

"Ugh…" but then thinking better of the so-called entertainment, this relaxing event Sorn had planned for him, "Go back to Fennore now, Mavia. I have a meeting."

But Mavia smiled evilly as she faded from view. Now she knew all his secrets, the best kinds that all succubae long to know. "Nice towel…"

Kael'thas bit his lower lip, blushed a little. "Uh, thanks."

"Don't ever let Kil'jaeden see you in it…"

She waited until the last minute and didn't explain, which was probably on purpose. That frightening possibility stuck with Kael'thas. Serving Kil'jaeden could be worse, hundreds of times worse, than being a slave to Illidan. Both were maniacal Demon men with a thirst for power, nefarious plans, a stomach for using and destroying people. And Illidan claimed to like him.

"You see that's the problem," Kael'thas looked down at himself in the towel. "I'm downright sexy and people are having a very hard time _not_ liking me. If they liked me less, if they outright hated me for being so good at being so bad, I could just be up front with my plans. This trying to hide how mean I can really be isn't easy in such a nice body." He laughed at his silly bragging. Saturna would have definitely loved that.

This was the part where she would have jumped all over him and hugged him till he was breathless, giggled and teased—so cute Saturna was, incapable of every really teasing him when she believed Kael'thas was as amazing as Sun itself. She could only fake displeasure with him, unlike everyone else in his life. Kael'thas still missed her.

"Maybe if you were still here, I wouldn't…" but that was too painful to finish.


	24. TK Star Trek spoof!

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter 24: Star Trek Spoof… dun dun dun!**

Kael'thas walked into a version of the Bridge that he was unfamiliar with. That is, the crystalline counters were cleared of loose paper schemata and oily broken pieces of Pathaleon's inventions. The dark violet panels along the curved crescent wall came to life when Sunfury scientists activated them—they actually worked! Every one of his scientists wore smart uniforms according to their ranks that Kael'thas had never seen before.

Pathaleon as efficient? Successful? Sane, for once? No…

"Captain on the Bridge!" someone near the door announced. Kael'thas looked all around wondering who that could be. The ensign flashed a quick smile and then pointed to his own collar then his Prince's. Kael'thas was startled to see that the scientists' uniforms weren't really all that new, just simplified versions of the red high-collared royal regalia he usually wore. Mostly everyone was in a yellow version of this but with black slacks.

Pathaleon the Calculator smiled and patted a large gray seat at the center of the two-tiered Bridge.

"Ahem. That would be you, Captain Sunstrider."

Engineers on a balcony platform just behind them, two conductors seated at complex panels before them, and everyone with an excellent view of the Bridge's large glass panel. Kael'thas always thought it strange that the Naaru had inverted the heart of operations in Tempest Keep such that the control room was at the center of the ship, the window pane looked within, at the Core. Not without, the way one would have to look if driving something, like a wyvern mount.

"Captain Sunstrider? Well, I suppose it does have a ring to it—"

"Star Date twenty-six dash four. We are currently orbiting Outland at a safe distance," dramatic pause, a reach of Pathaleon's red eyebrow, "A region the locals call… _Netherstorm_. It is our mission to assess possible cures for our racial addiction, retrieve a sustainable energy source, and forge a safe haven for Blood Elf Pilgrims…" he stood and began to pace, gesture with his melodrama. "But recently that has proven difficult, neigh impossible with the Naaru being so hostile towards the U.S.S. Tempest Keep and all her holdings…"

Kael'thas growled, "Pathaleon…"

"We may be forced to go… where no Blood Elf has gone before! Someone! Cue the music!"

"No! Shut up and sit down." And Kael'thas yanked the crazy man back to the double chairs they shared by his imitation red collar. "What do you think this is, some kind of game? Do you mean to trivialize every effort the Sunfury have made in Outland under my command? If this is Sorn's idea of launch entertainment…"

"Oh yes, Kael'thas. There is most certainly a launch today. Please forgive me for getting overly excited. You see, all my life's work comes together this evening. I'm anxious for you to see it and believe, at last, in what I've been experimenting with down in the Engine Room with the power couplings and the Time-Space Continuum."

"I thought I told you to leave that alone, Pathaleon."

There was an awkward moment during which it seemed Pathaleon was really going to pout. But he managed to compose himself instead and fly into a string of complex technical excuses that Kael'thas felt he was getting another migraine over. Yelling again… what was the point of yelling at him again, and a grown man at that? While Pathaleon slipped back into his strange narration of the Sunfury's exploits in Outland over the past six years, Kael'thas took the opportunity to handle some other business.

_Sneaking in another meeting, are you Kael'thas? Must I use your collar to force you to relax today?_

_It'll be quick, Illidan I swear. _Then he whispered, "Freywinn, c'mere."

High Botanist Freywinn had been given a green high-collared uniform. Kael'thas made sure to let the man know he looked far more interesting without the kindling shoulder guards for a change.

As Pathaleon paced and spoke loudly in the background, "Thank you Captain—"

"Be quiet, Freywinn. You are in enormous trouble with me. I'm not in the mood for your antics. You, High Botanist, were given the mission of a lifetime, and never got back to me about it. Now, are you finally going to tell me what happened when you ate some of those seeds, because my patience with you is wearing paper thin."

Freywinn stood so still, for so long while rose-colored phoenixes soared just beyond the Core screen that Kael'thas feared the man was high past reasonable conversation, yet again. "Oh, you're useless—"

"I am on a kind methadone, Captain. It prevents me from taking too many of the rave drugs I created in the Botanica."

Kael'thas looked at Freywinn critically. "Is that why you're talking like some kind of mechanical simpleton?" When Freywinn tried to answer, "Do you think I care about your personal problems? Get to the point."

_Slow down, Kael'thas._

_This guy is a jackass Illidan! I can't stand him anymore._

_Lady Vashj felt the same way about you, Kael'thas, but did I let her do away with you? No—_

_Yes._

_That was Saturna, as I said before…_

_Grr…_

"Captain, you've been quiet for some time. Should I refer you to Sick Bay?"

"I was speaking with Illidan. Now, what of the seeds?"

Freywinn was so relaxed on his drug placebo he didn't blink through any of what left his expressionless gaze next. "Enchanted chlorophyll in the seeds enables a humanoid to see many levels of reality at once. When ingested they enter the bloodstream and their effects are multiplied at a factor of nine. The bonds formed are covalent, and the simple sugars release energy at the end of the chemical chain stimulating synapses in the brain to fire at rapid succession. The result is dilated pupils, heightened humanoid senses. Erotic impulses are heightened by two hundred percent and can last for 5,327 hours…"

Kael'thas raised a hand for Freywinn to stop and rubbed the bridge of his nose with the other. "Freywinn, please be mortal—or what did you call it? Humanoid—for one moment and clarify what you're saying so that I don't have to be a botanist to try and guess it? Did I really… sleep with Saturna's ghost, or not?"

Illidan's presence in Kael'thas' consciousness felt weighty now, almost painful. Kael'thas wished there was some way to do this without sharing so much with Illidan. But when he already knew, it was hard to lie…

"It is as I have said. You saw everything that there was to see and feel in your quarters, Captain."

Astromancer Darthalla came up to them then. Pathaleon had gone red faced with his passionate monologuing while the scientists worked quietly. She was also trying to ignore Kael'thas' crazy scientific Second in Command.

"I believe that would depend, Captain, on what you view as reality."

Freywinn's stuck facial expression was no indicator as to Darthalla's remarkable presence under Pathaleon's new regime, and so Kael'thas was caught off guard. The woman had her eerie Voidheart helmet off. She smiled slightly, beautifully, such that Kael'thas had to ask her if she was always smiling underneath that strange hood, when she wore it. Darthalla blushed helplessly at him and it became obvious why she always covered her face.

_You are a fool, Kael'thas. Women fall into your lap and you have no idea what to do with them._

_Shh!_ Came Kael'thas' nervous reply. "Hello… Darthy." And managed not to focus on her shade-blue uniform for too long. It was sewn from one piece of cloth, covered her completely, but fit closely such that the natural grace in every one of her gestures was evident. Along with her soothing throaty voice, the woman was a vision of calm, disarming.

"I love you…" Kael'thas snapped his mouth shut.

_Illidan! I'll kill you for that! You know I don't… well it isn't exactly… I HATE you!_

_Too late, my pet. I am enjoying this collar more and more each day._

Darthalla had to look away. "I… my Captain, I meant only to suggest that Freywinn can only instruct you as far as you're willing to believe. If you do not believe in ghosts, then I do not see how you could have experienced that reality."

"Oh no… you know about what happened that night too?" Kael'thas fumbled to put something in his trembling hands and ended up with an oily messy engineering part Pathaleon had left on the armrest between their chairs. No, the Bridge wasn't all perfect.

"I heard, and I am saddened that you suffered. Kael'thas, I am more than just your Astromancer, but also a friend. Please know that I would be willing to counsel you on anything that troubles you…"

He eased back into gazing at her, rather than listening. Kael'thas came back to himself watching Astromancer Darthalla wipe his hand carefully with a handkerchief. Sometimes… sometimes it was so damned good to be the Prince of Quel'thalas. There were so many things that he wasn't owed that people—especially women—would get nervous over and do for him when it wasn't clear what was expected. And being the heir to a throne that he hadn't really sort of officially maybe given up yet, that confused expectations to the point of no return.

"Thank you." He had to take the cloth from her and finish the rest. He felt awful just watching the woman do it when she really didn't have to.

"I was afraid you wouldn't do it soon enough, and have your hands stained silver with mana oil for days and days…" she lingered nearby him though there was no reason to, the conversation done.

_Why must all your women be golden, Kael'thas? Made of gold like Ruthsalia, wearing gold, blonde…?_

_Illidan, that's like me asking why you are so fixated on women that do not belong to you. It's just the way I am._

_The best women are always taken, Kael'thas. I can't be blamed for that._

_Like hell you can't._

Freywinn had to be dismissed in order for Kael'thas to indulge in a private moment with her. Freywinn was acting so robotic at this point, it was unsettling. "Darthy, about what I accidentally said earlier… It's not that exactly, there's something I've been meaning to ask you, about that time we—"

"Permission to go to warp, Captain! We've received communication from our search team that the mission is in danger. They need to be portaled back here immediately."

"Warp? What the?" then Kael'thas groaned at Darthalla hurrying back to her station to set about helping with whatever that meant.

"Warp, my Captain! Light Speed! Didn't you read any of the reports I've been sending you? I think Warp Three should do it. We need to get there quickly before the hostile locals—"

"Wait a second, this ship doesn't move. The engine is malfunctioning, and it has been broken for years…"

"No, Kael'thas! I promise you. It can be done. Please… say it?" When Kael'thas asked what that was, and Pathaleon got teary-eyed and told him…

A heavy sigh. "Set a course for Raycon Five, at Warp Three." Scientists set about entering in the coordinates on the glass panels all around them in the Bridge, then, "…Ugh… Engage." And Kael'thas pointed ahead with two fingers.

_This is… odd, Kael'thas._

_Odd like people actually liking Arthas back in Lordaeron._

_Odd like you actually dating Jaina back in Lordaeron._

_You bastard._

Light speed made the pink phoenixes shriek and fly away from the screen… Kael'thas felt himself being pushed from behind, the whole room was moving, but to where? He got a sense that it wasn't Tempest Keep itself traveling through time and space but just the Bridge. Where would it go though? Would they end up crashing through the large screen? Into the Core?

And then suddenly, they were inside of it. The screen showed the round glass walls all around them outside of the ship, but that was hazy, a sort of reflection. Nearer to them was the entire night sky and a violet planet on the horizon.

Kael'thas covered his mouth, hesitant to speak aloud his theory.

"Yes, it is Outland." Pathaleon confirmed when the Bridge again settled. People all around the room looked pleased but not surprised.

"You did this… before? Earlier today when I was not here, without my permission."

"Kael'thas, it was a test run, and Sorn left strict instructions that you not be bothered. I had no idea it would even work."

"You've practically… the Core swallowed the Bridge somehow, you've turned Tempest Keep inside out on some inverted plane… you could have killed us all, Pathaleon!"

And the man named raised an instructive finger. "Ah, but you see, I didn't."

_Setting him on fire. Make sure you say you made me do it later._

His Soul Link was empty.

_Illidan?_

"Four to beam up." The voice of Fennore suddenly came from everywhere at once.

Kael'thas stood, unsettled. Pathaleon explained that they needed a good healer to go with Mellichar who was in charge of security and the rest. On the second tier of the bridge, mages conjured four portals. They were not blue but an arcane white-hot.

"No, this is not… the _same_ Outland?"

"Correct, my Captain. It is not an Outland that we know, but one of… a different version, you'll see."

White light pulsed at the heart of the portals, then expanded to form outlines of four people. Fennore appeared first, then Warden Mellichar, and at last Mavia. The fourth person, Kael'thas didn't recognize. As soon as he materialized, the man fell over. Darthalla rushed in, checked his pulse and pronounced whomever it was dead.

"Foolish ensigns. Let me guess, this casualty was all his fault."

Fennore nodded in answer to Pathaleon. Then he turned to Kael'thas, looking angry. "I'll resurrect him later."

Pathaleon grinned and asked everyone on the Bridge to have a seat while Number One Fennore gave an account of the successful reconnaissance mission.

"First of all, it was more than reconnaissance. It was horrific." Fennore spoke to Kael'thas like he already knew what was meant. Mavia glanced apologetically to her Prince then gently took Fennore's arm.

"What? How can that be… why would Outland ever be worse off than it already is?"

Mellichar's yellow uniform was cris-crossed with silver heavy metal studs he'd obviously taken from some savage prisoner in the Arcatraz. He had a wild look in his eye. "The future is truly bleak, Captain Kael'thas. Awful. The Burning Legion is running everything."

Everyone expressed outrage, then that turned to uncertainty and fear.

"No, we are just orbiting even farther out from the planet, that is all. We can't have traveled in _time_. Pathaleon?"

No one answered Kael'thas question. Fennore continued, "Illidan is dead, Kael'thas."

Silence.

"Because you killed him. When we arrived, Demons and monsters immediately set upon us. They asked us who we served, and Ensign Jackilee said Lord Illidan, thinking that the name would weight among Demons. He was wrong. But do you know whose name meant more than even our lives to them? That of my Prince. And they took us to him."

"What? But I've been here the entire time."

"Not you, Kael'thas. Belorim."

This unseated everyone. The Sunfury scientists stood and whispered together in groups.

"What has my son got to do with any of this?" but Kael'thas was asking Mavia about something else that had passed between them. She moved her black lips and mouthed, _I warned you…_Fennore was too impassioned to notice.

Mavia then said aloud, "Prince Belorim was as tall and fearsome as Lord Illidan, with fangs and wings, devil horns. He was marked all over with the sigils of…" she seemed to check herself. "Well, they told us they were the marks of Kil'jaeden. Prince Belorim was the Lord of the realm but even as powerful as he was, and as bitter and cruel, there was one more gruesome than even that twisted man-child."

Fennore crossed his arms. Kael'thas sensed the disagreement but returned the heated gaze. They were still a coven. If he even dared reveal…

Mellichar swallowed and everyone heard it. "Faltheriel Darkweaver."

Kael'thas had to sit back down. "Fal… who? What in the…" and settled on a petulant, "No! That can't be."

Mellichar recounted the criminal account for them all. "Faltheriel joined the Burning Legion after you refused to take him back into the Sunfury army, when Voren'thall the Seer defected and he and some loyal others absconded back to Tempest Keep. You killed the other penitent Scryers but wouldn't touch him, Prince Kael'thas because, he especially, offended you so deeply. You told him, and I quote, 'to go and serve the Legion for all I care, just stay from me!' and guess what, that is exactly what he did. Faltheriel was in charge of everything. He owned Outland and everything in it. Kil'jaeden was especially pleased with him because he had arranged for Illidan's murder. No one could best Illidan, even Arthas fell short when he easily could have. But Faltheriel found someone, got this person to sell his very soul for it. It was worse than that even. At first, my Prince, we didn't recognize yo—"

Fennore spoke over Mellichar. "But it could not have been. Because these are only shades of our reality, correct, Prince Kael'thas? And you were here in the ship for the whole time, like you said. What we saw was merely a scenario, a different dimension bent by light and space… not the real future. Pathaleon's calculations must be incorrect."

It was most definitely a prompt. Kael'thas assisted Fennore, warily, "Yes… Fennore is a Bloodknight and one of my sworn champions. Under the law, I can only really take his word for what was witnessed, Warden Mellichar. Go on, Fennore."

Fennore took Mavia's hand. "There isn't anything else to say except for that…it wasn't real. It could not have been. That sort of future would be too dark for us. The names of the people we met, and everything… it was just another dimension, but not our true reality. Not our Outland. Some other time…" but clearly did not believe it.

Pathaleon looked from Fennore to Kael'thas, and then at Mavia. "No… the calculations were exact. I tested it, and retested… over the last four years. All the work of my career has led up to this moment, and when Sorn suggested we provide something relaxing for Kael'thas today, I was only able to convince Sorn to let me include this launch entertainment because the preparations for launch into the future were finally ready. Our Prince would not have to worry about anything to make it work… Kael'thas, I mean to go into the future and find the answers to all our problems, the racial addiction, the energy crisis, all of it… It will save lives and time." Pathaleon went and stood before Kael'thas who would not meet his gaze. "But I did not expect the future of the Blood Elves to be so terrible. You… you would sell us out?"

"What did you call this realm?" Kael'thas challenged back.

It threw Pathaleon off. "Rycon Five."

"Why not just call it Outland?"

"Huh? But that's confusing—"

"No, just inconvenient. You said you'd been researching this experiment for years, that your calculations are exactly correct. Unless you're lying?"

"No, but—"

"But what? But now that your Prince is demanding the truth from you, after seeing how you fooled us all, you'd rather tell something else?"

"I didn't mean… That is to say—"

"This is a separate place from where we started this afternoon."

"Yes."

"A different world then."

"No."

"Which is it, Pathaleon, what is real and what is false? Or do you yourself not even know."

And Kael'thas argued him in rapid fire circles, accused Pathaleon of treason when he didn't answer according to what the Prince believed was right, called him irresponsible when he didn't have answers to obscure points, essentially turned Pathaleon's research on its head and when the frustrated scientist shouted and became passionate about his life's work, Kael'thas told him he was a lunatic and a failure, the way everyone always said.

"Pathaleon the Calculator. I am ashamed to even have you in my Cabinet. You would manipulate the Keep's engine so, force all of us here to this obscure dimension, and slay one of my very own men just to frighten the Sunfury? To further the seditious acts by Blaize's men and blackmail me into returning to Silvermoon before the work is even complete. And you claimed it was traveling to the future. Did you really expect any of us to believe that, honestly!"

Confused, heartbroken, Pathaleon shook his head. "I guess… no?"

"Shut it down. You are off the project."

"Kael'thas, I beg of you!" he flushed, "This is real and you know it! You're just covering it up. But what would you have to hide, unless…"

Kael'thas was ready with another manipulative diatribe but Mellichar pointed to the screen and shouted that they were under attack. Then the Bridge pitched and one of the control panels in the back sparked and caught fire. People were thrown from their places, with one random person doing a backflip over the silver railing of course. Neither Captain nor any of the major crew suffered any truly embarrassing tumbles either, for that matter.

"What in blazes could be attacking us!" Kael'thas shouted over the noise of red alerts going off and loud warnings scientists shouted that the shields were at this percentage, and what decks of Tempest Keep they were losing to power shortages… though the ship itself was supposed to be far across space and time according to Pathaleon.

"Proof that you're lying, Kael'thas! We _are_ in the future. Look, those are sophisticated versions of our Tempest Keep, all angular and sleek coming at us fast. Naaru birds of prey!"

"Shut up! Stop role-playing or whatever it is you're doing and take us back."

"But this is the future! Illidan is dead, isn't that what you wanted?" The loud crashing and yelling on the Bridge nearly swallowed up their voices. "and the Burning Legion is in control of Outland, you on the winning side, my Prince!"

"What are you even saying? Pathaleon, take us back, out of the Core. Now!"

If they were not all about to be blasted to death by the strange Naaru ships, it is quite possible that Pathaleon would have never done it.

When the dust settled and they were again facing the mysterious Core, not looking out at the world from inside of it, Kael'thas accused Pathaleon of the very same. "You have truly lost your mind! You would endanger everyone in this ship just to prove a point. You did not want to bring us back, you wanted everyone in this place obliterated so that you could be right about your precious research."

"Yes, it is precious! It is the key to everything, Prince Kael'thas, the real reason you won't—"

"You are dismissed! Guards!"

Pathaleon watched Kael'thas in mute shock the entire time the Sunfury guards marched him from the Bridge. There was pain in those wide eyes, then ire. He promised, "No… this isn't over. I will not be denied. They will know the truth, Kael'thas!"

That left Kael'thas surrounded by a wary team of Sunfury scientists who had seen their bleak future, then been told that it wasn't, only to be battered with it head on. He lifted his chin and folded hands confidently behind his back.

"Who among you… believes as he does? Raise your hands now."

A few people did. Kael'thas ordered the guards to put them in the Arcatraz.

"Make no mistake, that sort of subversive thinking is treason. Anyone one else want to be a revolutionary? I've only got room for patriots and true soldiers on this ship. Go on, be honest about your feelings, about how much you hate your Prince and your Country. I and Quel'thalas are one in the same."

Fennore wrapped an arm around Mavia and kissed her forehead so that he wouldn't see.

No one spoke out. They were afraid, or convinced… it didn't matter any more. "Good. Report to the Rave. You all have had a strenuous day, no? You there, send word that all my scientists are to have as many free Rave tokens as they wish. They must be allowed to enjoy themselves."

But when they were high and giddy out of their minds later, would anyone else in the ship believe Pathaleon had taken them to see the future? When they were gone, Fennore frowned and came before Kael'thas.

"You know what I saw. I did not understand it, nor did Mavia." Mavia hid her gaze and Kael'thas instantly knew she'd lied to Fennore, for him. "But you did, Kael'thas. Both you and I know that Pathaleon wasn't lying. What I want to know is… why? Why would you go to the Burning Legion, when you have everything that you could want already? Just to escape Illidan? We saw you suffering, you'd given yourself over to another master."

"Fennore." Kael'thas stopped him. "What do you know about Faltheriel Darkweaver?"

"That he's obsessed with you, for one. We saw that he had you on a leash—"

"I… could have lived my entire life not knowing that. The correct answer was, Fennore, that you weren't here at Tempest Keep or the Black Temple when we all were. The man that Mellichar described, this mastermind behind the entire downfall of Outland—and not me by the way, if I was only a puppet of some kind—is a pathetic fanboy," and he shuddered to recall it, "who couldn't bring himself to do anything better than collect swatches of my hair and rubbings of all my personal notes… he was just a pathetic loser, a stalker. The idiot was living safely on the other side of the war, with the Naaru, for goodness' sake, and led a band of Scryers back here to rejoin their furious Prince after what Voren'thall did to me." Kael'thas shook his head. "Someone with a brain that small is incapable of ever causing any real trouble. Trust me on this, I know. All the more reason to believe that what Pathaleon engineered for us to see today, for this 'launch entertainment' was simply some extreme version of our reality… a twisted performance or a hallucination, or a trick of the lights. And he orders everyone else in my Cabinet about, you know. He could have done anything he wanted behind my back. Did I tell you that Freywinn gave me seeds once that made me think I saw Saturna, spent the night with her? Pathaleon must have manipulated my Cabinet to do something similar today, to trick us."

"Yes, you have told me about that incident."

"Because I confide in you, Fennore. You are my friend and I trust you. Now, are you really going to put so much faith in Pathaleon's lies, break my trust just to breed skepticism?"

Fennore had not said that he was going to Lady Liadrin with an account of what he'd experienced that day, in what Pathaleon had insisted was the future of Outland. Kael'thas was feeling him out, and that should have been enough to arouse suspicion. But Mavia kissed her master then, and it wasn't.

"I am afraid, Fennore. Please take me home."

Deep down, it was all Fennore ever longed for and the succubus knew it. "Yes dear…"

_Kael'thas._

_Yes, Illidan._

Kael'thas wandered over to the wide screen of the Bridge, alone now, and peered through it. There was a large crack at the edge of the glass. A phoenix ascended then and followed the trail of his finger. A flicker of flame from its wing seeped through and he stroked a hand over it. But Kael'thas could not feel the bird. The bird was in another time and space, truly. Exactly as Pathaleon had said. The Core was a void somehow, the Naaru had manufactured a doorway to the future within their own ship.

_You were gone, just now. Where did you go?_

_Why do you want to know? Not all stories have happy endings, Illidan._

_I never said that your life was some fairy tale. I only asked what it is that Pathaleon did to the Bridge, to make it disappear, and sever my link with you._

_Suppose my life were a book…_

_Alright then._

_Imagine the back cover. We were well past that._

_How can I not exist in your story, Kael'thas. That you would even suggest it angers me._

_Funny…_ And Kael'thas walked out of the gently sliding glass doors whistling gaily, _Fire and brimstone, as long as it is a world without Illidan Stormrage, it pleases me very much._

Illidan growled, _Not as long as you wear my collar._

_Then I'll simply have to get another one. A bigger one, a better one. Are you feeling cold and alone, Illidan, now that you see I have a plan you can't figure out? Good. Be damned, for once._

_I give you a vacation, and you give me grief! Remind me not to take you anywhere ever again, Kael'thas…_


	25. Destiny knocks twice for Kael'thas

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Destiny knocks twice for Kael'thas**

A little sparrow came and perched at the edge of the podium. It hopped and cocked its unremarkable brown head to the side, watching him. Kael'thas was startled to see nature so close, and then hear it around him… The tiny bird's cousins had swarmed in the ruins of some white building above all the people. Man and beast watched him with a kind of innocent hunger.

"Shoo!" Kael'thas knew this voice to be Advisor Sorn. "Why must they do this to you, ever since you've returned home, my Prince."

Kael'thas smiled and felt he'd done it before, "Because I've been feeding them. I always conjure bread and scatter it. The farmers aren't the only ones starving because of the Plague…"

The Plague. The Scourge. Arthas. Anasterian. These memories hit him hard, too fresh. It all could have happened yesterday, there was no comfortable void between them, the resolute confidence in the certainty of the past, even if it was spoiled with tragedy and failure, because time had marched on, too many years to think of doing anything less but surviving.

"Survive."

Kael'thas realized that Sorn was prompting him. And also, the old man had swatted at the little sparrow and it was forced to dart away, back up to its family.

"You've paused too long, Prince Kael'thas. Please continue, lest the people lose confidence in you. Prove to them that the rumors of your inadequacy aren't true." And what was implied, of course, was that Sorn fully believed that they were. No, he knew it absolutely. He'd led the force of Rangers to meet him at the edge of Quel'thalas, saw what the tragedy had done to him.

Kael'thas reached fingers up to feel the soreness about his eyes. Then with a jolt, slipped them down to feel his neck. Where was the scar? That Illidan had given him?

_Illidan?_ He tried to project that voice of his consciousness within but it fell flat. Like yesterday. He did not have the Demon magic to amplify it across souls. There was no Soul Link.

There was a black band tied around his arm. That at last confirmed for Kael'thas that he was, by some twist of fate, no longer who he had become. It wasn't clear yet whether that was good or bad. Kael'thas couldn't help recoiling at the thinness of his arm in the royal regalia. And he felt lightweight, small. _Ugh, how I must look…_

"Come now, don't _be_ a bookworm, Kael'thas. Avoid who you are. Now, your next line is, 'Survive. That is what we must do, survive. We will carry on the fight for…"

"…those who have fallen." Kael'thas remembered the speech now. This, whatever it was, was too vivid. Details he had forgotten came back to him now, like the hungry sparrows, that it was a beautiful day back then despite the horror of defeat. And most apparent now, that he actually liked Sorn and appreciated his help. When in the _hell_ had it ever been that way between them? Kael'thas fought an impulse to laugh. "We will live for them, rise out of their sacrifice. Like phoenixes!" he shouted. "From ash to flame again, and again, and then a third and fourth and fifth time, seventy times seventy times until we rebuild! Until we again raise these shining towers!"

The surge of it, the opportunity to rile them up again was exciting and he relished it, "We are Blood Elves! We will stand for no less from anyone else who would dare defy us. Meet what they offer, death and destruction, with blood. And that will also be our war-paint, let us think and act with the stain of the victims on our consciences. Let us not forget what was lost, but rise because of it. I hear you argued over whether to take revenge… Revenge we shall have, as Blood Elves. I hear that you wonder where to bury the dead, when it is all around us," his voice broke, recalling his father, "We will renew and refurbish with them entirely in mind. And then you ask what we shall do, what I will do, to fix this tragedy, to prevent further horrors?"

Sorn sneaked in, as he reviewed the hand-written copy. "Very good… and well-written Kael'thas, might I add."

"I will take the best of you, call you my Sunfury, and join the Alliance at long last!" Kael'thas snapped his mouth shut after that. Had he just said… Ew.

He whispered to Sorn, "I want to take that back… couldn't we just… join the Horde? Warchief Thrall is bound to be desperate for support, and Lady Sylvanas can more than vouch for us."

"My Prince! The very idea… join the very spawn of the Burning Legion itself! And Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner, bless her soul, was slain in the conflict… were you not listening yesterday when I appraised you?" then Sorn lost his patience with him. "…A Warchief? A Warchief of the Demonic Horde! The very idea… have you gone mad?"

Kael'thas scratched his head. It made perfect sense, actually. It was nothing short of what Rommath had already done, in his place. Well, he hadn't liked the idea at first, but so many good things had come out of it, and Saturna once explained to him about Thrall and the sorts of lenient types that came together through a common loathing of the Alliance…

Kael'thas raised wispy golden eyebrows. "The Horde, the New Horde, has not been formed yet."

"The Orcs are where they belong, in prison camps, my Prince. And I beg you to get back to the matter at hand, the people have been waiting for this…"

"Be quiet, Sorn and help me!"

Sorn flagged uncomfortably. Yes, something was terribly wrong. The Advisor Sorn he knew these days was used to getting yelled at.

"Sorn, what about Illidan and Tempest Keep? Illidan _is_ here somewhere, isn't he? He never leaves me…"

"Illidan Stormrage? The Outcast?"

No, Sorn never called Illidan anything but their Lord and Master, because he was a smart man. Sorn knew better than to question who was in charge, for the good of everyone.

Kael'thas gripped the podium. His knuckles went white as he considered. Pathaleon had threatened him, promised revenge… could this be… Had he truly sent them all to another time, again?

That was when Kael'thas saw Sunthraze. It was almost comical, if not for the gravity of the situation. His outrageous hair was lumped ontop of his head in a mussed ponytail. He'd stuffed hands into blue overalls that he wore without a shirt. The young man was easy to spot because he had several colorful preening Hawkstriders by the reigns in one hand. Almost smiling at that smart aleck's true background, Kael'thas tried to find the others.

Daphne and Tempestraven were right in the Ranger Corps, as Lady Liadrin had told him, that the two women served in the military before they became Bloodknights. Tempest looked especially hardened. She wanted to cry, one could tell. Daphne held up her tall friend and blushed when she saw Kael'thas watching them. He wasn't sure if he should reveal what he knew yet, or how his actions now might affect what was to come… Where was Pyorin? He would have imagined the Tank to be right near his ex… Right, of course Pyorin wouldn't be. He'd fled the army for Undermine and the Goblins. The man was becoming a Darkmoon Faire card junkie someplace across the world, right at that moment.

Lady Liadrin was hardest to find. The soldiers were up front, bold Sunthraze had pushed his way to where he wanted to stand, of course. Kael'thas cupped a hand over his eyes, cutting the glare of the sunny day. She was dressed simply with a group of others in the back. They looked to her now and again, minded her opinion. People were already showing such deference to a fellow politician. And Lady Liadrin watched Kael'thas right back. She realized where he was looking and smiled at him, grateful to have been recognized by Anasterian's son.

Kael'thas was about to look for Blaize to gauge his true background when he realized how futile that was. Everyone else was here, this was real, truly the past. Which also meant… if Pathaleon had truly accomplished what he insisted, then she was alive too. She was alive!

Kael'thas moved away from Sorn and the other advisors on the dais. He looked over the humble crowd. There weren't many of them. Others were sick with addictions to arcane magic that no one understood yet, or recovering from wounds left from war with the Scourge. Those who could stand and come had done so. There was a chance that Saturna was not even among them, that it wasn't convenient for her to come out this day.

A cloud passed overhead and blocked his light. Kael'thas swore and jumped down from the platform to comb through bodies by hand. People whispered at his strange behavior.

At first he did not ask for her. Kael'thas feared that they would see his weakness, how he ached… or that by hoping so hard he would somehow lose his chance. That fate would realize the mistake it made and amend it before he could reach her. But then he became desperate.

Gently at first, "Saturna…" then panicked, "Saturna! Saturna, where are you? Starshine…"

To the west, people began speaking aloud, that they knew of Saturna. They were excited and laughing, and Kael'thas didn't understand at first that they weren't sharing his joy.

A throng of doe-eyed teenagers gasped and giggled when he approached. They wore pink tabards that Kael'thas hated to admit he recognized. Yes, he once had a fan club. No it had not been his idea. In fact, it was one of the main reasons for him fleeing—and yes it had been fleeing, regardless of what he told people—to Dalaran. The young girls all blushed and pointed to a large paper sign two of their members were holding.

It read, _Welcome home Kael'thas. We luv you! _With a big red heart painted on. It was embarrassing and annoying in all its loud colors. Who else could have been behind it? Kael'thas reached out and lowered the banner. Of course it was the idea of one Saturna Whiteblade.

She was cute. Saturna had freckles on her cheeks that she hadn't grown out of yet. Her pale hair was pulled up in a playful ponytail. Kael'thas melted to see her innocence, her ridiculous joy at having been noticed by him. Of all the important things going on this day, Saturna wasn't listening to his speech. She had been giggling and gossiping about him behind a frivolous banner. And what the nature of that girlish conversation had been was obvious enough. She and her friend, though Kael'thas didn't mind anyone else now but his Saturna, had blushed deeply and bowed their heads.

Kael'thas reached across them and lifted her chin, smoothed a thumb over the lips he had loved and missed. It seemed wrong, for her to be ashamed of her feelings. A Bloodknight was never embarrassed about his or her conviction. People gasped when he touched her.

Kael'thas flinched. He realized that he was flirting with a sixteen-year-old.

What else could he say? "Saturna… Whiteblade?" it felt weird to address her like a stranger. And then she deserved better than that. He loved her, he knew her so very well, he needed touch her again and convince himself. Kael'thas wanted to tear across that sign she sheepishly held between them.

"Mageblade." Someone answered for her. Kael'thas looked up cringed at what could only be Saturna's protective father. "And with all due respect, my Prince, might I ask how you know my daughter?"

Her mother, looking like a prim lady of the court despite the horrible circumstance of the city added, "And why you are calling her something so offensive?"

Kael'thas turned red. "That is… I didn't mean to… Well you see, it's a named she earned because of that time, in Naxxrammas, wasn't it?" How would Saturna know? She blinked at him curiously. These things hadn't happened yet. Kael'thas felt like he was being tested on how well he knew this woman he loved. "She has this sword… she can turn it white." A happy smile of relief that was most certainly misinterpreted, "And it's glorious the way she does it, she saved me… or will save me with it, many times."

That didn't go over well. Everyone around began chattering excitedly that Prince Kael'thas had taken up with a sixteen-year-old girl, and wasn't that scandalous, even for a Sunstrider?

Saturna yelped, and tried to hide back behind the poster. Kael'thas snatched it back down and tried to explain, or apologize, or just… hoist her over his shoulder and sprint away, he didn't know. None of what raced through his mind at that moment was appropriate and that frightened him. Sorn put a firm hand on Kael'thas shoulder and turned him around.

"Well your speech was nearly ruined, thankfully _after_ the strategic re-naming of our people…" then waved a triumphant and professional good bye to the crowd, "Come, my Prince, before you make any more of a scene! Surely, you learned about the danger of mixing women with politics… back with Jaina Proudmoore and your hiatus in Dalaran."

Oh, Sorn was sharp tongued, Kael'thas had forgotten about that. No wonder he busted him down so many notches… and Kael'thas stopped feeling sorry about having done so over the years, right at that moment.

"She's not Jaina! I don't want Jaina," softly, "I want you. Saturna… come with me."

"I think not!" her father clamped a hand down on his daughter's shoulder, preventing her. Then a whispering from his wife. "Well, it isn't decent at the moment, of course. But if the Prince is fond of our beloved daughter… perhaps something could be arranged between our families, in the future?"

Were they talking about marriage? Already? Good gods, Saturna had not been joking about her royalty-obsessed, ambitious parents! No wonder she came out so…

Over Sorn's objections, "Saturna. I don't have time to explain, but you have to come with me, right now. You can't go to Outland, you can't… we'll stay here and I'll be King the way I was supposed to be. And then you and I and Belorim can be a family, finally…"

They asked Kael'thas who Belorim was. That was when the gravity of what Pathaleon had done, why he at first was so dead set against the man's meddling with time and space, hit home. Of course Kael'thas believed Pathaleon could do it, he saw the possibilities all along, but wanted to prevent them because tampering too much could have unprecedented results, leave the Blood Elves in more dire circumstances than they were at present.

And now their little son, Belorim did not exist.

Not because he and Saturna simply had not met yet. The boy had been conceived under such specific conditions at the Black Temple. His mother had been a Bloodknight, and her power had incensed Kael'thas, not just her loyalty that burgeoned on fangirl proportions. If Saturna was like this in the Black Temple, silly and childish, then Kael'thas knew that he would have never wanted her. And how could she even have come to the Black Temple in her current state? Where was that dark determination that Lady Liadrin had seen and trained into something more? The conviction that inspired others like Sunthraze, Fennore, Pyorin, Tempest and Daphne to follow her? Saturna was not even Saturna anymore. Or else… she could not become the woman her Prince needed if he stayed with her.

But then let Saturna go, only to lose her again? Wasn't it better to have Saturna in some diluted version than no Saturna at all? But the old Saturna was a stranger. And there was no guarantee that if they married and had children that one of them would be exactly like Belorim. In fact, from what Kael'thas had studied about biology in Dalaran, that sort of thing was impossible. Just as a person's spirit, their demeanor was formed from impressionable circumstances, even tragedies, their bodies were stamped by specific conditions as well. Kael'thas and Saturna could have many sons over the years, but there was no guarantee that any of them would be like Belorim. For now, he was lost.

Not again. He was losing both of them again… Kael'thas saw how real this was. He would have to choose between his own happiness and the future of his kingdom. In fact, Pathaleon had been counting on it.

Sorn urged Kael'thas to move on, a final time.

"Saturna Mageblade." Kael'thas began again, troubled. "I frightened you, and for that I am sorry. No, we've not met before. But I know you. Deep in my heart I know you and believe in your potential. In fact I… I am love with your potential." He took her welcome home sign and set it aside so that nothing stood between them. When Saturna's father realized that there was no real transgression in the Prince's actions, just that his daughter had caught his eye, he'd withdrawn his protection. Kael'thas disagreed with that sort of parenting, but wasn't going to object now. "That is why… you must grow up, and become the amazing individual you were meant to be. I can't undo this early meeting between us, and I am afraid of what it means for me to see you before I was meant to see you, and love you so deeply." He swallowed because it was dangerous to explain any more, about Illidan or the Blood Nexus, or anything else.

And that was another grim reality, that Kael'thas was turning back to Illidan and his dark powers that would secure a future for Quel'thalas in Outland.

"…Come find me, love. Train and get strong. Then do as you were meant to do. Will you do that for me, Starshine? I promise that this time… I will not make the same mistakes again. I will protect you."

Saturna, as expected, was enthralled. She nodded a breathless yes. There was no doubt in Kael'thas' mind that this new event would change her life. He hoped, not too much. And the longer he stayed like this, the more that changed regarding their futures. Kael'thas needed to get back as soon as possible. "Don't let me listen to Illidan, alright? You yell at me, you beat me, whatever it takes… fight for me, until the end. I will try my best but you must help me. Do you understand?"

Of course she didn't. But it was all he could do. There was something Kael'thas needed to see to by sunset, he recalled, and then he had to run into this person in the morning as a result, in order to leave Silvermoon on time and be upbraided by an irate Grand Marshall Garithos and sent to the front lines… Kael'thas wondered if this was selfish. Forsaking an easy existence growing fat on his father's throne for real power again, Illidan's power. But it wasn't the thrill of it, an addiction to the Demon Lord, he told himself. It wasn't because he looked down at himself and despised the lean body, the ferocious spark of power always at his fingertips… wasn't it? Or had it anything to do with what Pathaleon forecasted, when he sent a crew into the future of Outland… No, it was because of Belorim. Belorim deserved to live. Kael'thas wasn't going to murder his own son!

"Don't abandon me!" Kael'thas hugged Saturna. "There is so little I can change… I pray that you'll forgive me. Starshine…" then lost in the feel of her, really her, Kael'thas kissed Saturna.

Sorn cleared his throat loudly, and people in the crowd reacted loudly, spoke about how indecent it was when Kael'thas was an adult, five years older than her. But he didn't care… especially when, from his perspective, he was really eight years older than this version of Saturna. Kael'thas resolved to ignore them and completely undo this woman he loved because he knew what it was going to mean to her. He did not want Saturna to forget his message. He used his age and experience with women to his advantage to seduce, charm and ruin the young woman for all other men, throughout the rest of her life… on that very spot.

Then cruelly, "You belong to me, Saturna Whiteblade. I love you, and I need you. Will you take up your sword and follow me?"

She said, blushing, "To the ends of Azeroth."

"Beyond." He assured her.

The other fangirl standing right next to Saturna winked and said, "You're not just going to kiss _her_ are you? That's not fair, and I'm the Junior scout, the second in command. She and I have to share everything, Prince Kael'thas. It's the rules."

Saturna chastised her companion that no, she didn't have to share Kael'thas with anyone, he was _hers. _It was a more than disturbing conversation to behold because this other person was much older, and a strange boy at that, wearing a pink tabard. At last, Saturna referred to her odd friend as Faltheriel.

"Come on, Kael'thas, Sunshine." Scrawny teenaged Faltheriel pushed Saturna out of the way. "Give us a kiss!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! You! You do the opposite, you stay away from me. No stalking me, no leaving the Scryers to join the Sunfury again, no collecting my toenails, and giving me perverse Mind Vision dreams, none of it!" and struggled back through the crowd.

Faltheriel rushed after Kael'thas, arms outstretched, demanding his kiss because he was a fangirl too, even if he was a boy. It wasn't fair to be so prejudiced, he was _owed_. Suffice to say, it was a lot easier to walk—that is sprint—away from Saturna than Kael'thas first feared.

"Come back my sweet mana pot! Fine, I see you have to go, but don't worry, I'll find yoooooou!"

As he hurried away with Sorn, "Sorn, there is a rift around here, someplace, a sinkhole of sorts for magic. By my fast calculations, it is probably somewhere in the palace." And that Kael'thas knew so much about his future, the only one not mired in the past, was a sure sign that Pathaleon had made this one precious mistake, "I need you to take a group of Magisters and find it."

"Yes my Prince. Now, will you explain to me about that girl? Your father, bless him, would have been very disappointed in you. That was not the time!"

Kael'thas tried not to smile so much. "Well, she is not a girl anymore. I saw to that. Nor will I ever lose her… I will come back for her Sorn, when she is ready."

"… and the boy?"

Kael'thas cringed. "Get a Ranger. Have him shot."

"You can't murder an innocent child! For no reason at all? What has gotten into you today!"

Kael'thas' voice flew up an octave. "You find me that rift and you make sure that Faltheriel Darkweaver never joins the Sunfury army! Alright?!"

_Hours later…_

Queen Celestia stood in the throne room surrounded by boxes and boxes of shoes, trunks of clothing and jewels.

Kael'thas had no sympathy for his father's widow, his step mother. "Give me my Mageblade."

The selfish woman had tried to smuggle it out of the royal palace, with all her fine things Anasterian had bought with Sunstrider money. Word spread that Kael'thas was returning home and what had his step-mother done? Tried to get the hell out of Quel'thalas, and fast, with all her pilfered things and then some.

"Your father loved me…"

"Let's not pretend that my father wanted anything more from you than what was between your legs." Kael'thas rudely told her in front of all the serving women, the stewarts going to and fro with the Queen's belongings. "I won't be making the same mistake when I marry, I can assure you of that. And if you think that I'm going to show you any mercy, after the way you treated me when I was growing up, or trying to steal my inheritance—"

"That is no way to speak to me, so soon after your father's—"

"More time has passed during that terrible moment and my arrival here than you ever imagine, Celestia! The only reason why your head isn't on a pike outside of my father's old bedchamber is because you knew your place and started seeing to it before I got here! Now move this junk out _my_ house before I toss it outside and burn it because you can't exile yourself fast enough!"

"My Prince?" Sorn walked into the throne room then, flanked by Magisters.

Kael'thas hid that he was enjoying cursing out his bitch stepmother for a second time in his life before heading back to reality once more. Just because fate was being cruel to him, and he would have to follow future events down to the letter, didn't mean that he couldn't enjoy himself.

"We've found the rift. I have no idea how you knew it would be here, or even what it is… but it's been isolated, the magical leakage sealed."

"Unseal it." When Sorn objected, "I didn't ask you to find it so that you could fix it. I am going to exploit it and get this whole kingdom back to where it was meant to be."

They left the throne room and traveled up a few levels. The rift was a wavering silver portal that hovered before one of the golden wallpapered corridors. It was the exact length and make of the crack Pathaleon had caused in the Core with his stupid Launch Entertainment and the Naaru birds of prey or whatever he called it. Kael'thas stood before the crack he knew was in the Core, and conjured…

"Your Majesty!" Sorn called over the rush of air and magic. "Where are you going?"

"To join Garithos tomorrow morning. You'll meet a messenger and accept the summons at last."

Still confused that Kael'thas was physically disappearing, but speaking about another kind of journey, "Well I suppose that is better than your joining the Horde, of all things! May I say that I am relieved to—"

"We are Blood Elves, we will go wherever is necessary to survive. Never question that." At last he looked over his shoulder and snarled, "And if you _ever_ mouth off to me like that again about a woman in my life, I will burn you down to the marrow of your bones!"

Kael'thas reached back through the Core and into the future, as Sorn shouted and counseled him about the past. Some things never changed…

_Moments later…_

Rose colored light and the snap of violent energy shrieked and echoed in the Bridge when Kael'thas shattered the glass Core screen.

Pathaleon had been asleep, leaning over one of the navigation panels. Papers of calculations were scattered about him. Clearly, displacing his Prince through time and space without his permission was done in a great haste. Pathaleon woke up shouting.

"You… tried to kill my son."

"NO! Kael'thas, you must go back! What have you done… you were supposed to save us. It was all but done, and I waiting for salvation." Kael'thas yanked Pathaleon onto his feet and the panicked redhead wept, "What kind of man do I serve, that he would choose Illidan and the Legion over his people, and a woman that he loved… do you think I don't care, that I am so callous? I wanted her back as well, for absolutely everything to be right again, but you wouldn't listen to me."

Kael'thas was shocked to hear it and shook him. "No, she's alive, I saw to that! Do not tell me these lies!"

Pathaleon grabbed Kael'thas' hands about his collar, but he wasn't trying to hurt him. He tried to hold onto his Prince. "Please forgive me. I risked everything to do it… I tried to go back further, to before the Scourge attacked and King Anasterian murdered… but the engine threatened to give. I didn't want there to be an accident and lose Tempest Keep in the process… so I slowed it all down, I put you in the one place that I felt you would make the most difference, Kael'thas. I didn't mean to lie to you, my Prince. I thought that you would see, that you would understand the sacrifice I made and do what was right. Why have you come back?!"

Kael'thas let the fury well up inside of him. It was good to feel the Demon magic coursing through him again, and the rage that fueled it. A little while ago, back in Silvermoon, he was not as strong. He lifted Pathaleon up off his feet, so that he twisted and strangled in his own robes. Kael'thas felt strong all over once more. He felt heavy and powerful. He was again a man unafraid of taking lives and hurting those who hurt him back.

"And you killed her, and left her again, didn't you? How could you choose Illidan over Saturna, and the Legion over you people, again!"

Kael'thas raged, "I did NOT! I did this for our son—"

"MURDERER!"

_Do it._

Kael'thas yelled and threw Pathaleon, with all his strength, into the shattered pane glass of the Bridge screen. The man twisted in agony as he crashed into the Core itself, was stabbed, and fell face down in the failed shrapnel of his own experiment.

_You chose well, Kael'thas._

_No… what have I done? Out of anger…_

_You chose me, Kael'thas, brother. You chose to save me and our son. Thank you._

_I DID NOT! Be silent! Out of my mind…_

_We are one in the same, but you do not listen, Kael'thas. Do you long to be like him so much, that you would deny what is so obvious about father and son? You chose right, and I helped you to kill for the right reasons, again. Do not be ashamed…_

Kael'thas wasn't listening to Illidan anymore. He realized what he had done to a man who only wanted to serve his county and his Prince, though through volatile research. He walked over crumbs of broken glass and looked down at the body of Pathaleon the Calculator.

The alarms were going off. Lieutenants Dacian and Falx charged in with Sunfury soldiers ready for a battle. What they encountered, however, was their Prince standing over the body of his Second in Command, and a scene of the inside of the royal palace fading behind the large destroyed Core screen. The view of their homeland wavered and dissipated at last, space and time mending once again.

"You have killed him." Dark-haired Dacian came forward. A true soldier, he focused on what he knew and could deal with.

Kael'thas slipped his trembling hands up into red sleeves. "No, Pathaleon isn't dead. There was a malfunction, and his own foolish experiment caught us both off guard. I too have scratches from the glass, but he was closer."

Neither of Blaize's Lieutenants believed it. "If the Sunfury ever had a reason to defy you, it is now—"

"Take Pathaleon to the Arcatraz, where he can receive the sort of medical attention a criminal and revolutionary deserves. Then bring your General back out. And I'm sure that once he's freed… you all will want to get down to the surface again, patrol the perimeter around the ship."

"Take out the Legion camps you mean—"

"Raze the Goblin towns, first." But that did not answer their question. "They are in our way."

It was a trade. If they covered up the murder for Kael'thas, then the Sunfury could have the fight they so badly needed, a relief from being stifled by their distracted Prince. The two soldiers had only to look at each other for a moment.

Falx told the men to get a stretcher and bandages to fix what he called Pathaleon's 'mortal wounds.' Dacian shouted loud enough for everyone around to hear, that they needed to hurry and save the prisoner's life.

Kael'thas ordered the Bridge to be sealed, intending for no one to ever use it again. Then, while people felt for him, for he appeared shaken at having lost Pathaleon… how far from the truth that was, Kael'thas walked back to his apartments.

First, he checked to see if Belorim was still there. His son was safe, sleeping peacefully. Kael'thas came out of the bedroom and leaned against the corridor wall. He tossed his head back and begged, pleaded with fate for one more miracle. Pathaleon was speaking foolishness, angered him for no reason. Kael'thas reasoned that was why he had attacked Pathaleon, because he was mocking her to be cruel, lashing out at the woman his Prince loved to make up for the failed experiment…

Gently, Kael'thas opened the door to his bedroom and stared into the darkness. Someone was lying in his bed. He let the light from the hallway filter in, rather than turn the lights on, so afraid he was that he might ruin it. Kael'thas took off his robes and got dressed for bed, trying very hard to be normal. Then he turned down the covers.

Kael'thas feared to breathe as he nestled into her shoulder. He recognized the blonde hair against his cheek and cried.

"No…"

Ruthsalia turned over to face her master. "I sensed that you wanted her… I am sorry, my Master. This is the best I can do."

Twice, he had an opportunity to put his love for Saturna before his desire for revenge, and failed. Once out of ignorance, then again out of avarice, he saw at last.

Twice.

"Ruthie, tell me honestly. I never deserved her, did I?" Kael'thas dug nails into her skin.

"It was her choice to die, for you. She made the decision once and then again, whether the past was changed by your plea or not, my Master. That is how I would encourage you to see it."

Connected to Kael'thas as she was by their souls, Ruthsalia would believe and love everything about him, even if it was mindless loyalty. Especially if it was wrong.

_As she is to you, you are to me. I told you, Kael'thas, that you are my slave. Whether you wear the collar or no. In this age or the one came before. I own you, you belong to me. _

"Ruthsalia… I killed Pathaleon to cover up that I chose something else over her. And the launch this afternoon, it was true, exactly what I've been planning…"

"You chose Illidan?" Ruthie asked, but that was an act. She was going to save Kael'thas from going too far.

_I know that it was the Legion, Kael'thas. N'shatai will bring me proof and then I will consume you. If you do not want that future, then you should not tempt me._

Kael'thas could not promise Illidan this. In his heart, it was already felt too late.

Ruthie licked his face and held Kael'thas close. Her Master had seen another dark destiny and already decided upon it. It glittered like nothing else, the carnage and devastation, the lust for destruction and revenge, the same as justice, at last sated. It was perfect and worth murdering a brilliant and innocent man over in her Demon eyes.

"Twice… twice… What have I done?"

_Destiny rarely knocks even once. Only fools get a second opportunity to save themselves. And a third? That does not exist, not for you, nor for me Kael'thas._

"I would give anything for a third chance… No…"

But who would give that to him?

Illidan laughed. _I'd like to see your precious Bloodknights try and save you now. _And the Demon man's cruel voice rolled and tortured Kael'thas the whole night long.


	26. Two redheads go too far

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Two redheads go too far**

Fennore crossed his arms while Lady Liadrin heated into the thick of her tirade. The other Bloodknights watched, fearful of what their strange comrade might do to the furious Matriarch. Red-faced, Liadrin came to a stop just inches before Fennore's nose, her scowl matched his dark grin in intensity if not meaning.

Trembling knuckles clutching the Whiteblade in one hand, "For the last time, Brother Immortal, what happened on the Bridge yesterday! Kael'thas' Second in Command is suddenly dead and the entire Sunfury army is behind the cover up. I want to know what he did!"

Fennore lifted his chin and returned in his menacing calm, "The right thing."

"And what is _that_ anymore!" she exploded at the others next. Pyorin, Daphne, Tempest and Sunthraze stood in attentive file for Morning Inspection. They were stuck dealing with the brunt of it whether they wanted to or not. "Something this critical should NOT be a surprise to me! I've ordered all of you to watch over Kael'thas. Every single one of you is supposed to be helping our Prince recover so that he can return to Silvermoon. But what have your assignments amounted to over the past month? Kael'thas is a powerful man, the key to everything for Quel'thalas. We cannot afford to let him down when he could use that amazing Bloodmage agency and go either way! But we're all failing, him Nexites. That is precisely why these horrible things are happening." She stalked over to Daphne and Pyorin next. "That poor child, Belorim is sick! Yet, have I seen either of you attempt to ease his suffering? Have you even tried to speak to him, find the source of his nightmares?"

Pyorin, who looked very angry to have been accused said, "Daphne and I are doing all we can, Matriarch. It's not as if we're able to be with Prince Belorim all the time, and Kael'thas is his father. Perhaps if this brilliant Bloodmage would take a moment and—"

"Disrespect!" Liadrin shouted. "Plain and simple. You sit there during Belorim's Bloodknight lessons and make eyes at your inferior, is what's happening. Do you think I don't notice? And Daphne is no help either, encouraging you, Pyorin, by acquiescence. Daphne! Over the years I've warned and warned you about your insecurity… when will you learn to thwart a man's unworthy advances, for your sake and for the sake of our important work!"

Daphne opened her mouth to say something but Tempest spoke over her friend. "Oh that's going too far, Lady Liadrin. Leave Daphne alone. Just because _your_ boyfriend turned up deadbeat to the point of no return in the Arcatraz, doesn't mean that any of us should suffer. You've got some nerve picking on maybe the nicest person here—"

"And YOU!" Liadrin fairly shoved bold Tempest, daring her. Tempest staggered back, made a fist, but held her ground. "How dare you speak to me in that way! Did you forget who I am, or how I broke you the first time you defied me, Tempest the Raven? I have not, and I've never forgotten the place I put you in all those years ago."

"Oh you bi—"

Liadrin put a hand over the other woman's mouth, and glared at Sunthraze when he was about to defend his woman. The tension in the Matriarch's office sparked, and everyone felt it. The Bloodknights made great personal efforts to stare only straight ahead, at the far wall. But hands slipped down to weapons, jaws clenched.

Sunthraze was perhaps the worst person to speak up in that moment, but conscious of this and true to his cavalier style, did it anyway. "I was going to say, Lady Liadrin, that this isn't really about Tempest, or I or Daphne, or anyone else…" then the redhead broke form and turned entirely toward Fennore, pointed. "But it is _his_ fault. Fennore is hiding something from all of us, I'm sure of it."

Liadrin shook her head, "We've through this before, Sunthraze. And I warned you about turning against your Blood Brother in addition to defying your Prince. What happened with the Void Reaver was clearly an accident."

"It was by design! That… pervert! He tried to kill me by design. And just yesterday, the same thing happened with Pathaleon, only no one was there to prevent Kael'thas, the one behind absolutely everything." To startled objections from his companions, he insisted, "Something happened on that Bridge yesterday, during that weirdo Launch Entertainment thing that got Kael'thas so mad, and he took it out on his Second in Command the first chance he got. It was a cover up just like with the Void Reaver. And that's only obvious when Fennore refuses to tell us what really happened."

Fennore said, "I already told you that Tempest Keep traveled to another dimension. Pathaleon lied and said it was the future of Outland, and was careful to find a bleak one using his calculations, at that. He was trying to force Kael'thas' hand… which is little different than what the Blood Nexus is trying to do right now. If you don't trust your own Blood Brother enough to believe the shocking truth, then it isn't my fault."

"You manipulative bastard! And you sound just like Kael'thas right now, you realize—"

"Quiet!" Liadrin released Tempest and gave orders for there to be no more unfounded accusations against Prince or Country or the Nexus. "Perhaps I am more frustrated than normal… General Blaize himself being accused of sedition and sent to the Arcatraz is shocking, but not just for me. It was a blow to the entire army." She closed her eyes against the pang of his real betrayal regarding the legal document, that she also feared to reveal. "But Blaize is back in the field now, with his army… where the Sunfury belong. That Kael'thas has come to accept at least that much about our dire situation here in Outland, against the Legion… I suppose I can take comfort in that. We all should."

Liadrin took that opportunity to end the meeting on a positive note, and dismissed her Bloodknights. She grabbed fiery Tempest by the wrist though, and kept her from wandering, lusty, after a winking Sunthraze.

Liadrin brooded openly at her misfortune regarding General Blaize in the face of this woman's constant successes with men. Tempest had to look away, the jealousy was so clear in Liadrin's expression. But the woman tank also looked fearful…

"So when are you going to tell Sunthraze that you set up this entire thing? And don't look at me like that, as if you don't know what I'm talking about. Tempest, I've seen you do this in nearly every place we've been before."

"But it's different this time, Liadrin, I swear. I really care for Sunthraze."

"And what was last night with Pyorin then?"

Tempest blushed.

"Or the night before that? The words 'commitment' and 'honesty' seem to leave Sunthraze's mouth, as he brags about his new lady love of late. But I've been keeping an eye on you as well as Daphne, as I always do. I know that you haven't stopped your dalliances with Brother Tank, and there are also other men. You always have a makeshift male harem of sorts wandering around, licking at your heels, Tempest. All too frightened of you to say anything, or too enamored with your loose charms to ruin a good thing… or bad thing, if you ask me." She clucked her tongue. "Such self-destructive behavior. You would consume every man you come across, just to feel good about yourself. Really, you and Daphne aren't so unalike." 

"I know I have a problem but please... Sunthraze doesn't… please don't tell him. It's not that I started up behind his back. I was actually never able to stop when he wanted a commitment from me. It's very hard for me to stop, but I truly want to, I promise. I just need more _time_ Liadrin."

"More time to crack and then break the bonds between everyone in my Blood Nexus? No, I don't think so. And all the whips and chains and leather outfits in the world are not going to change my mind, too bad for you, Sister Tempestraven." Liadrin flipped the Whiteblade around easily, tossing it skillfully in one fist. The sudden movement of a sword so large made Tempest flinch, and she hated Liadrin for doing it just then. "This is your last chance Sister Tempestraven. Fly right."

"You aren't my mother."

"Shame. If I was, I could have saved you a great deal of pain and suffering for using men the way you do. And your best friend Daphne as well." A sigh, "And you know what happens when someone pisses off Daphne."

Both women paused to cringe at the prospect. Tempest slipped into a sultry smile, "You know, if I was dating her, I'd be loyal to a fault. That's more than motivation."

"I don't want you to even joke about perhaps having slept with the one person alive who is really your friend, nearly like your sister, Tempest. Please." Discomfort welled, and Liadrin changed the subject, "Well there's another reason I kept you after, other than you needing to be reminded of just how to address your superiors, your frightening love life… and your incompetence. Tempest, I greatly dislike this marathon dating idea you and Sunthraze have got going for Kael'thas. It is demeaning. Kael'thas isn't some prized stud to be prostituted out at the highest bidder… he is our Prince, an icon. I would tell Sunthraze as well, but I know you've got power over him at this point, and he likely wouldn't listen to me. The both of you would have just teamed up on me and evaded my every attempt at rectifying this ridiculous carnal carnival you're planning… which I think is really Sunthraze wanting to slight Kael'thas." Liadrin rubbed the bridge of her nose. "The blind leading the blinder..."

"And what makes you think either of us listen now? Maybe you judge me, for being so free with my body, but it's _my body_. And sex can be good for the spirit. It's something Kael'thas hasn't had in so long—"

"We're not going to talk about this. I want that schedule-book in Sorn's office cleared. If there is any fallout from the women on this ship who become dateless as a result, you're going to deal with it. And that is fair after you've been stealing their men, Tempest, practically leaving them with no one but Kael'thas to pursue… Find some other way to aid Kael'thas romantically, and with respect, not making fun of his awkward and sensitive nature. Maybe he is a grown man now, but I know his uncomfortable youth still bothers him a great deal. Now then, you're dismissed. Do NOT let down your Prince this time, Lucia the Tempestraven. If you and Sunthraze fail to support him in this desperate time, after Pathaleon's tragic loss... Sun help us."

Tempest only scowled and strutted away, with more than a chip on her shoulder.

_Later that afternoon…_

Coughing, then, "Boingy, boingy, boingy!"

Daphne and Tempest smiled at hearing Belorim's voice come from the other room. Daphne put a finger to her lips and crouched. Tempest did it too but the hunting knife stuffed down into her boot creased and creaked the leather. Daphne rolled her eyes.

Daphne peered around the corner into the master bedroom. Belorim was jumping up and down on the bed by himself. The whole room was a mess. The blonde Bloodknight came back and exhaled quietly. She counted with her mouth and fingers…

_3…2…1…_

"Gotchya!" Daphne ran distraction and Tempest swooped in for the kill. Belorim knew he was being ambushed and hopped down, ran between Daphne's legs but Tempest was kneeling on the floor and seized him in two long arms.

Belorim screamed and twisted in circles. Tempest clamped down her cigarette in one side of her mouth, and with her hands, dared to hold Belorim upside down rather than loosen her grip to readjust him properly. The last time one of them gave the boy even that much of an inch, Belorim broke free and took a whole hour to be recaptured. The nightmares were making him very naughty these days.

"I'm telling my Daddy! Let me go!"

"Where is that Kael'thas, anyway?" Tempest growled while dodging Belorim's feet that kicked at her head. She held him by the ankles. The top of Belorim's head turned red, Daphne frowned and said something about the boy possibly passing out. Tempest grunted that she didn't care. Belorim was alright though. In fact, he started slapping the carpeted floor, and giggled to himself.

"Oh, look, Tempest. Kael'thas was here all the time… he's fast asleep."

Both women came closer to the bed. Tempest had to waddle a bit with Belorim attempting to grab _her_ ankles with every step.

Kael'thas was in fact napping. His face was peaceful. An arm bent over that, a little protective, perhaps an instinctual reaction to hearing Belorim come in and jump all over his bed while he was in it. The man was fully dressed in a black pajamas.

"Nicest damn pajamas I ever saw. Monogrammed even… K. O. S. I wonder what that stands for? And are those… spellthread sheets?" 

"Damn pajamas! Damn pajamas!" Belorim tried to chant before losing his breath upside down. "Oh, I have a midegrain." This was surely learned from his father. Three-year-olds didn't get migraines.

Daphne sucked her teeth at Tempest and took Belorim from her. He was dizzy and worn out now, he lay his head on her shoulder and sucked his thumb.

"You were like this when your poor Daddy was sleeping? Oh, Belorim." She whispered and bounced him up and down.

"Oh he _is_ cute when he sleeps, isn't he Daphs?"

"Well, Kael'thas works hard, besides being the only parent to this adorable little monster." She kissed Belorim's forehead. "Let's not wake him up. Thanks for helping me apprehend Belorim for his L-E-S-S-O-N-S." she spelled so the boy wouldn't hear and start squirming again. 

Tempest caught Daphne by the arm. "No, let's not go yet… I mean we have to wake him up anyway, since we're taking his son, don't we? Or else Kael'thas will be worried."

"Well… I suppose—"

"Not like that… go lay Belorim down in the other room. He's falling asleep too anyway. We'll have a little fun with the handsome Prince."

"Tempest, I don't like where this is going."

"We're just gonna' crawl into bed with him. I'll even let you get the front—"

"Tempest! I will not—"

"I bet he wants to wake up to two women that way. And since he won't date anyone, we'll get him going, get him inspired..."

"That is only going to end up one way, and you know it—"

"No, actually. Been there, done that. That sort of thing wouldn't surprise me." Kael'thas' exhausted voice joined theirs. Seeing him wake up was somehow intimate. He was unusually calm, relaxed and gentle. 

"My Prince?" Daphne gasped. Belorim fell asleep just as his father woke up. Or maybe it was the other way around…

"Oh good he's gone. I was hoping he'd wear himself out. I was too tired to play—"

"You've… slept with more than one woman before?" Tempest was intrigued. Daphne was waiting for an answer too.

"It's nothing to be proud of. Like so many other things I've done and seen…" Kael'thas shook his head and stared out into the darkness of his room. 

"So your dates _are_ going well?" Daphne tried to be happy for him though Kael'thas was clearly dejected.

"No, that was years ago, before I met that one's mother. Oh, and that reminds me, all those idiotic dates are this evening…" He covered his face with a hand. The shoulders sagged and it took Daphne and Tempest a long time to realize that their powerful monarch was not just nervous about the dates. Something else was making him terribly upset. "Oh what have I done? Twice… twice…"

Belorim was starting to wake up and the ladies made a quick decision regarding who would take care of father or son. 

Tempest cleared her throat and sat on the bed next to Kael'thas. She played with her fingers, not knowing what else to do while he gave in to what he felt. She chanced a guess at what the problem was. "You know… you weren't the only one who felt Saturna around here." 

Kael'thas folded his legs underneath himself and held his head in hands. "You should go. You shouldn't see me like this."

"Whatever." She shrugged. "You're just a man. You act like you're the goddamned Sun itself but none of us are impressed, really." A sly smile.

He peered out from under a tear-stained hand, and looked truly annoyed, but then laughed in spite of himself. 

"Yes, it's true." Tempest lay down on the bed, crossed her ankles. "You go on as if you were the only person who misses Saturna, or lost her, or betrayed her… but I know what Pyorin and Sunthraze did. And Fennore told us how he chose not to resurrect her."

"I was angry at Fennore for that back then… but it wasn't his fault."

"Us too. And we all came to the same conclusion. And, um, you know what else? We were angry at you on top of even that, because you were closest to her and could have done something."

"Like what?"

"Exactly. Like what? Like been able to see the future? Or known exactly what Saturna was thinking or feeling at the time?"

Kael'thas didn't look any happier to have heard that, which disturbed Tempest.

"Daphne kept saying that she and Pyorin would feel Saturna in the room with them when they watched Belorim. And I have to keep Sunthraze from talking about her like she's still around sometimes… Pyorin thought he was a freaking super-hero meant to save us all from getting hurt the same way she had been years ago because of his Darkmoon Faire cards… all of this is a mess."

"Now you're going to tell me to move on, because that is the only thing that will fix it."

"Nope. Shit happens."

"Excuse me?"

"It just does. Sometimes bad things happen and there is nothing you can do… except for survive. By any means necessary." She began to chew on her fingernails, which was what Kael'thas always did when he was nervous and he prevented himself from going that far now. He began to realize that this was the first real conversation he ever had with Tempest. They had a lot in common. And she was mean… a bitch to be so cold to him… 

"Wow, and they say that I… well, I know I'm a jerk." To Kael'thas' confession, Tempest simply nodded. It stung, but it was hard not to appreciate that she was at least listening to him. "By the Sun. You're all fucked up, just like me."

"Mmhmm." And her eyes wandered to the curtained porn-trait. "I guess that's a compliment."

Kael'thas lay down next to her, then leaned on an elbow and stared. "What is wrong with us?"

"I dunno, we don't like putting up with people's crap I guess. And we know that life is already so screwed up so we try and take what we can get from it. The wrong people love us, we commit ourselves to the wrong causes…"

"What is the worst thing… you've ever done to, you know, survive? Like you were saying…" Kael'thas was obviously working up to something. Tempest took a breath while she considered going quite so far with him. 

She settled on, "So I share, and then you get whatever this horrible thing is that happened yesterday off your chest… is that how this is going to work? And then, because I'm your Bloodknight, I'm sworn to secrecy… Okay then, fine." Before Kael'thas could decline the offer and change his mind, Tempest blurt out, "I slept with my best friend."

"Pyorin? Well, I'd heard about that—"

"Daphne. We were stranded in a trench after the war, we thought we were going to die… I made a conscious decision to take advantage of her, so that I would feel better. I knew that she didn't want to go through with it, but I didn't care. I pressured her."

Kael'thas was calm. He didn't judge, but reached up and scratched his blonde hair rather casually. "Hmm… well here's mine in the love department. Years ago, I promised Saturna that I would marry her, but it was really only so that she wouldn't run back to Silvermoon and tell everyone… what I've been doing here in Outland. We were that close, I told her absolutely everything. In truth, I didn't want to get married, I wasn't ready… but I just wanted to win, you see."

Tempest couldn't look at him anymore. She needed to do something with her hands and twisted the spellthread sheets into a little knot between long, nervous fingers. "Well that's nothing. I… I broke up Daphne and Pyorin a little while ago, so that I could keep sleeping with him."

"You can hardly compare that to—"

"And Sunthraze. And… some other people. You see… everyone knows only what I want them to know. Lady Liadrin I can't seduce, really, so she knows everything. But, she's not willing to endanger all her Bloodknights over it, either, so she gave me time to get out of this mess. A little, anyways. I tricked Daphne into helping me out with Pyorin and Sunthraze the last time, but now I have to figure it all out on my own…"

Kael'thas shook his head at her. "Tempest, just stop. Commit to one person… unless you're willing to throw everything you care about away, for sex." A pause during which Tempest got caught up in his gaze. "Unless… you're addicted to sex."

"Oh no… I may be addicted to arcane magic, and cigarettes… by the way, have you got a light?" Kael'thas took the cigarette she offered and pinched it between two fingers, lighting it like it was nothing. "Right… you're a Bloodmage. And that was so hot by the way…"

"Thanks, but you're getting off track again. You were saying?"

"Oh right… um, no, I'm not addicted to sex. Just the attention that comes with it. I've thought about this. But Liadrin warned me that if I go too far this time, I'll lose everything I care about, even my closest friends. I mean, do you know what Daphne would do if she ever found out? I'm in deep shit, Kael'thas. It doesn't get worse than—"

"I murdered Pathaleon."

The confession drifted, nearly tangible between them, like the smoke from Tempest's cigarette. She sat up after a while and looked at the far wall, then after another nervous puff, looked over her shoulder at her Prince who lay still on the bed. "I know why you did."

Kael'thas started to explain about Tempest Keep going forwards and backwards in time, and Pathaleon being the only person skilled with the technology. Furthermore, Pathaleon was the only one who understood what it all meant, that in the future and in the past, Kael'thas had made the same decision twice, to embrace the Legion…

Tempest spoke over him. "Kael'thas, you're upset, and I'm not going to judge you. Especially when we're in agreement on this." She scooted forward to the edge of the bed, finished her smoke and then stabbed out the rest on the bottom of her boot. She only wore a pair of slacks and a low cut white shirt today, as unlike Daphne and Pyorin who were watching Belorim, she was off-duty. "I would have had Pathaleon executed too, Kael'thas. Pathaleon could have blown this whole place up, and what was left of Quel'thalas would have gone up in smoke too with that stupid Launch Entertainment, and then whatever he got up to last night, without your consent."

Kael'thas stared at the back of her white shirt for a while. "What happened last night… was truly horrible, Tempest. You have no idea. I wish I could… I couldn't sleep."

"Don't worry, Kael'thas." But she was teasing him, attempting to lighten the mood. "You did the right thing, however grim. Besides… now that I know what's been going on, I can help. Anything else that gets in your way, just come to me. I'm a Bloodknight, trained to beat whatever's bothering you into submission."

He eyed her suspiciously. "It's already submitted, from what I can tell."

Tempest smiled with one side of her mouth and went to snuggle up against him like they were old friends. "And so you do flirt successfully with women. I knew you had it in you, Kael'thas. Especially since you're a Sunstrider. Sunthraze and I really have no business helping you with your love life, do we?"

"Eh… maybe a little bit. But that is the last thing on my mind right now."

"Because it's trivial?" she tempted him back from the dark brink again. "Nope, too late, Kael'thas. That it's lighthearted is precisely why we have to talk about it."

"Oh, come on now… I've had a rough couple of days…"

"Sure you're bookish and silly at times… but those are just your nerves. You're a very attractive man, and so I know for sure that you can get right over Saturna and move on after three long years. I… didn't think I'd have to be the one to break that to you, Kael'thas."

He watched her blow smoke rings overhead like a man.

"Well I _know_ that… but what am I supposed to do with it?"

"You don't _do_ anything, Kael'thas. Just go with the flow."

"See, this is what doesn't make any sense. I'm supposed to attract a woman but I'm not supposed to do or say anything? So then what's the point of dinner, and dressing up… all these stupid dates you signed me up for! What do women want!"

She could have explained that Liadrin had forced her to cancel all the dates, but it just didn't feel right when, without some kind of pressure or impetus, Kael'thas clearly wouldn't try very hard on his own. Unable to help herself, when Tempest believed she had always been in the right, she let slip, "You."

It was not an answer Kael'thas expected. He looked over to see Tempest blushing. She explained, "I mean… they want to be with you so, you, of all men, don't have anything to worry about. When they offer you sex—and they will, trust me—just do it. Take it and run. Your hunger, nature, whatever will take care of the rest. Is that why you were having trouble? I've been wondering but between Sunthraze and the Lady, they won't let me be alone with you. Kael'thas?"

Kael'thas had to take a moment to collect himself. He'd been staring down her unbuttoned shirt. It was a natural thing to do but he was surprised to do it with her. And right now, after everything? Had Tempest always been this…

"Tempest?"

"Yes, my Prince."

Kael'thas knew that he should get up. He should not lie there so close to her. "For some reason, I am most comfortable talking about these things with you. Fennore and Sunthraze tried, but here we are and I finally feel like I am getting somewhere."

"Really?"

"Do you know why that is?"

"You seem to know the answer." It was a little enticing.

"I don't… think. When I'm around you. It's impossible for me to second guess myself. I already know that you're rotten to the core and so am I. Why pretend?"

"Oh, is that good?"

"Yes, it is. And it helps, to have a normal conversation with an attractive woman. I am completely comfortable right now, despite… yesterday." Kael'thas glanced at Tempest again right then, and those dark thoughts subsided once more. "To be honest with you, I haven't felt this at ease in a long time, with Belorim being safely out of the way… and someone finally leveling with me, like I deserved. Thank you."

They lay there for a while. Kael'thas tried not to stare at Tempest. Tempest on the other hand, was bold.

She leaned up on two hands, not able to make the reverence for such a professional situation last. "I like those pajamas. Say, what does the 'O' stand for in your initials? K.O.S…"

Kael'thas took a breath. "It's an ancient name from before Dath'remar's time. It's no big deal, all Sunstrider men get christened… Though mine happens to be an offensive one that I have no intention of sharing."

"Why would your parents give you an offensive name? That's pretty cruel to do to a child. And you so _are_ telling me what it is. You're even sort of bragging about it right now, aren't you?"

"My parents didn't give it to me Tempest, it was foretold. And why would I ever have to brag?" But that was hopelessly conceited too. 

"Wow, foretold… This is starting to sound pretty—"

"It's why no other Sunstriders, not even distant ones have ever dared to get in my way. It's a warning, alright, and everyone in my family knows about it. Can we please talk about something else?"

Tempest smiled because he was blushing. Kael'thas wasn't really all that upset about it. "My oh my, I think I'm beginning to understand how all this connects. It's dangerous but you secretly want me to know. That's because it's about sex, isn't it, Kael'thas? Men don't trust their wives with you, do they? That's what I've heard... So, does this 'O' name mean you're really great in bed? Or bad? Or… maybe both, you know, bad-good… _nasty._"

He didn't have to say it, Tempest knew better.

"Please play with me? I never get to talk to you, alone. We'll make it into an exercise."

"No."

"Well, we don't have to go that far. Just a little bit…? Now you're gonna' make me feel bad, Kael'thas. Are you saying that you don't want to flirt with me at all? Not even an eensy weensy little bit?" 

"You can't possibly be doubting yourself. Tempest, I didn't think I'd have to be the one to break it to you…" he mocked her.

"There it is! See? That was good… but less neutral this time." She lay on her stomach, rested chin in palm and kicked her legs up giddily like it was a sleepover. "Come on K-ster, take a risk."

"K…ster?"

"What I can't have a little nickname for you?"

"You're crazy… and hot."

Tempest grinned. "And you're even better when you're awkward." He watched her claw his sheets coyly and tried not to like it. "Kael'thas, that's so adorable."

"Fine, fine I did it. Can I take that to mean I'm getting better, so we can stop now?"

"Mmm… someone thinks I'm sexy."

"I didn't say that—"

"Your eyes… looking through my shirt, such that I had to lay on my boobs to cover myself up? They tell me different."

Kael'thas flushed redder. "Well damn. Alright, so you caught me. But you're always dressed to kill when you're not in your uniform… It isn't my fault."

"So you noticed..." She sat back on her heels now. Kael'thas was left looking up at her. He felt the silly smile on his face but decided to be less embarrassed this time.

"Lucia the Tempestraven. You are a beautiful woman. You give me dirty thoughts… and thank the Sun that you are my teacher in this situation and a Bloodknight or else I'd be in a lot of trouble right now. And dammit… I _like_ trouble."

He wasn't playing around. It caused Tempest to stop smiling, and serious Kael'thas did too. He sat up as well. "It's Olvi'athon."

Tempest reflexively put a new cigarette in her mouth, choked on it, and Kael'thas reached up to pat her on the back. His touch threw her off even more she had to hold onto Kael'thas to keep from rolling backward and falling off of his bed.

While she recovered, he attempted to explain, "Exactly translated, it means I fuck men's wives. And castrate their husbands."

"By all the stars in the sky! Kael'thas! Tell me this is some kind of sick joke… you must be following up on something your spies told you about that Pyorin thing… is this to teach me a lesson? Are you collaborating with Lady Liadrin or something? Because this isn't funny at all!"

Kael'thas shook his head at her. "Well there goes me feeling safe and comfortable with a woman for the first time in a long time. Knew it was too good to be true."

"Wait, so that's really your middle name? And you thought I'd be enticed hearing it… But that just means you… and Pyorin, he… and Sunthraze. And now I'm lying here with you. Oh no." Tempest was quiet for a while. "This is starting to feel like some kind of horrible test. No, that isn't right, I'm just making excuses for my bad behavior... right? Kael'thas, look, I should go. Sunthraze and I… If I went as far as we almost did, even if I've been wanting to for a long time... I would be crossing a line, beyond it being way too close to what the cards predicted… and I've done enough harm, with men."

Kael'thas was offended. "You've been tasked with helping me find a woman, and you don't even care why nothing's worked so far, why I've been so resistant, for my entire life? This whole time, you've been coming on to me and when I finally work up the nerve... Well isn't that supposed to be your job!"

"My job is _not_ to sleep with you, Kael'thas!"

"Oh, now it isn't, but a little while ago, you were all, 'you're so handsome, Kael'thas,' and 'any woman would be happy to have you, Kael'thas,' and let's not forget the shirt open down to your waist, rubbing yourself up against my sheets, 'oh Kael'thas, why don't you light my cigarette!"

She opened her mouth, more embarrassed than upset. 

"And don't you even dare pretend to be a lady now, Tempest, when you've already seduced every other man on this ship, like I _said_ you would do at the beginning!

"So is that how you see me?" she heated. But the words immediately echoed in her mind. No, that was how she presented herself, what Liadrin had been warning against.

Kael'thas sat cross-legged once more, and looked dejected. "Look. Forget about it. It's like you said, right? Shit happens… I'm done falling apart over Saturna," he turned and shouted at the painting, "Done! Do you hear that? I'm tired, and it's over. Sure I failed, but I also fail everyone and at everything else all the time, so what's the difference?" Then to Tempest, "And you had better get rid of that ridiculous waiting list for my bedroom, do you hear me? Do you know how demeaning that is? No, I'm not some charity case… I am not going to beg for sex. Not from you now, and not from anyone else, ever again. I am going to go out and get what I want, on my own." after irritated grumbling, "...Make my damned list."

Tempest went to leave, but lingered in the doorway. "Kael'thas… I hope you can forgive me. I can see that you're in need… of some compassion. I regret not giving that to you before. And it turns out that we get a long so well, it's a shame I spent so much time chasing everyone else, playing games... But as much as I enjoy being with men, I just can't do that for you this time. Not knowing what I do now… about your middle name."

"It's not a name." Kael'thas grimly concluded, "It's a curse. I suppose that is my own burden, to overcome that and everything else, if I'm ever going to get anywhere. Thanks, by the way, for the resounding rejection when I needed it the most."

She winced, "You don't deserve this, Kael'thas. Maybe no one else truly understood before, but I do. And I'm so sorry that I can't help."

Kael'thas arced a golden eyebrow. "To seduce me for weeks and then be so cruel? You're a selfish, cold-hearted bitch, Tempest. And I'm not sorry for that."

Tempest balled her hands into fists and stormed out of his bedroom. Illidan returned to his mind right after and taunted Kael'thas for a time, for his sorry situation in love and in life.

_I am the only friend you have, accept it. Send the Bloodknights away, and submit to me in all things… what do you even have left?_

_A good reason to hate you forever, Illidan. And I also have my son._

"Kael'thas!" Now it was Sunthraze shouting at him, interrupting his rest. Kael'thas rolled his eyes and vowed to have his apartment doors nailed shut as well as the balcony. It was so tempting to agree with Illidan, that his own Bloodknight guards had set out to ruin him.

"Who let you in here?"

"How DARE you speak to Tempest that way! Do you know how upset you made her?"

Kael'thas said that he didn't care, she deserved it.

"No woman deserves to be treated like that. Just who do you think you are? Prince or no Prince, I swear if you ever try to put your hands on Tempest again…"

"You sat in here in treated me like worse than Elekk shit just the other day. You and Tempest have been cruel to me this entire time. Where do you get off? I'm a normal person just like you, or anyone else. I've got my own damned problems, but you don't seem to appreciate that. I've never encountered anyone so disrespectful of authority, even a Bloodknight. If it was within my power, I'd have you excommunicated from your order very fast, Sunthraze. In fact, I'm not above making a strong recommendation to your Matriarch. You and your girlfriend."

Sunthraze was livid. "Well I've got a threat for you, Kael'thas Sunstrider. I know what really happened yesterday, at that launch. I was at the Rave around the time you dismissed your scientists, I heard first hand what's coming to Outland, because of you. I suspected it all along, that you were conspiring with Fennore about something, and now I have proof."

"My scientists were in the Rave, as you said. They were all no doubt high and drunk out of their minds, seeing things…"

"Do you know _I_ saw? My own friend trying to kill me, to cover up that Void Reaver mess of yours weeks ago. And then Illidan showed up here in Tempest Keep after, and they say he was angry with you. Now, something else suspicious explodes or whatever on this ship, and Pathaleon winds up dead? You and Fennore and Mavia… obviously the three of you are very interested in what Pathaleon can't tell anyone else, ever again, that his Prince wants very badly to side with the Legion."

_Kael'thas, I am alarmed to find that this one's words have merit._

"Be quiet." Kael'thas warned.

"I will not! If you're going to kill me, Kael'thas, then kill me. Because after what Liadrin has already seen, after Fennore's attempt on my life, and then after Pathaleon being murdered, she won't be misled if I turn up bloodied or missing. I've been honest with her about my opinions regarding you over the last few weeks… you'll only end up hanging yourself with the rope you've measured out and taken, since the day you let Illidan kill Saturna… for much the very same!"

_Kael'thas, answer me. You try my patience._

To the low growl consuming his consciousness, through the soul link with Illidan and the painful collar, Kael'thas trembled with hate at what Illidan was starting to do to him, and regarded his Bloodknight with much less. But Kael'thas knew could not silence Sunthraze in the same way he had done with Pathaleon, no. The sly redhead was right.

"Sunthraze the Sly. When you so rudely called my name and threatened me a little while ago… you missed something."

"No, I don't think so. I know everything about you now, Kael'thas, and it's only a matter of time…"

"I'm not the sort of man you make threats to, Sunthraze the Sly. Not when I crave taking what isn't mine, for all the wrong reasons. Wealth, power… women. Does this sound familiar at all? I wonder, whom would a Bloodknight would turn to if his own Prince committed a crime against him? Where does a Bloodknight, with an oath to Prince and Country, turn to find justice?"

"You are hardly a just man."

Kael'thas didn't blink. "Run home, little red ret-hoax. Put up your sword and all your retributive spells… that pathetic plate armor, because it isn't going to do you any good."

_I am going to give you nightmares._

Sunthraze heard Illidan usurp Kael'thas voice. A threat the Demon Lord made to his Prince, that Kael'thas sneered and projected at Sunthraze in turn. Even while in the throes of Illidan's torture, Kael'thas was powerful.

Kael'thas continued to speak as furious Illidan burned his raw flesh through the collar. Illidan saw that there were secrets and wanted them, but Kael'thas knew better than to give in and look guilty. He fought the Demon magic, and focused on Sunthraze instead. "I… am going… to take… what I want… from you. If that is what… I must do to get stronger… and survive… you and your woman… revenge on you both."

In Kael'thas' mind, Illidan threatened that N'shatai had better not find any evidence to support Sunthraze's claims. Kael'thas distracted himself with the lustful thoughts of that afternoon as he burned. Only a true Olvi'athon could take comfort in that sort of pain.

"Both will burn… for abandoning their Prince…"


	27. He's Baaaack!

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: He's Baaack!**

Tempest didn't think anything of it when she saw a squadron of Sunfury soldiers coming at her in the hallway. She smiled absently at the chill that seeped in through her cloak. It made the pressure in the tight leather bodice even more satisfying when her body felt flushed and excited everywhere. She arched her back up into it and smirked secretly at the thong tightening as she stretched and strutted. Tempest let the light cloak that concealed her true intentions this night slip open a little. Would people notice?

Sunthraze was protective of her after the incident with Kael'thas, but Tempest knew that he was also jealous. And Sunthraze had a right to be, more than enough reason to be suspicious of her and the tiniest inkling would lead to him questioning other things. There had been a nervous moment, and she wondered how to fix it? Tempest suggested a special this night. A show of loyalty, a demonstration of her true feelings for him, a night better than all nights that he would remember always… seduction. Really, it wasn't necessary to go so far when Sunthraze clearly loved and trusted her already. But that had always been the thing between them, that Sunthraze caught her off guard, turned her around and inside out with his guile. Maybe Sunthraze was even hoping she would do this for him one day, bring the chains and the whips, wear the leather. All the things Tempest's old flames—and some of the covert current ones—whispered about but she never shared. Tempest secretly feared that Sunthraze would see a side of her that would ruin everything. But it hadn't. Tempest found herself worrying over what Sunthraze thought and felt about her, which was the surprise of her life.

"But when I confessed how I truly was to you, you did not reject me Sunthraze. I wonder what you would think, if you knew absolutely everything…" Tempest whispered to herself now as she glanced absently at the marching Sunfury guards. "Oh, sweetheart… what is it about you, Mister Sly, that inspires me to behave… Tonight we start over, for real this time. You can have all of me."

"Lucia the Tempestraven."

The charmed redhead almost flirted with the guard, she was so lusty-high. "Yes, what can I do for you handsome? And I hope it doesn't take long… I've got a date."

"You are hereby under arrest for crimes against the Sunfury army."

"Huh? What—"

But they had shackles on Tempest before she could think or seduce her way out of it, nor did it occur to her to ask for a chance to change…

They did not go to the General's quarters or even to see Lieutenants Dacian or Falx. Once more, Tempest found herself walking down the long glass hallway with royal advisors running about. They clutched their black caps and raced along from room to room with books and scrolls. But the elegant red doors at the end of the hallway remained closed and dark. The guards at the Prince's door saluted her captors and began shouting orders for everyone to clear the hallway. Chief Advisor Sorn stepped out then and folded arms across his chest, disappointed.

"Hey Sorn! Do you know what's going on—"

"For the record, Miss Tempest, I am greatly disappointed in the Prince over this… please know it is none of my doing. Thankfully, nor is it any of my business." He shut his own door back, locked himself inside. They came to the end of the hallway. Two glistening crimson panels pulled back obediently. Once inside, the soldiers shouted salutes to the darkness, bowed.

Tempest was disoriented at first, there didn't look to be anyone at home. But then her eyes adjusted to the shadow and she saw the faint orange glow that drew the soldiers' attention.

"Kael'thas! Do you… smoke?"

"Leave the manacles on her."

Hands dropped from where they had been fiddling with the locks on her chains. Someone caressed the inside of her hand, another man definitely groped her before they left.

Kael'thas, at least it _sounded_ like Kael'thas, continued to smoke and sit—she supposed—on his couch in the pitch black room.

"Alright, am I in… some sort of trouble? They never said—"

"Why, would you like to be in trouble with me?"

Tempest failed to answer right away because in her ears it sounded like an invitation… and that couldn't possibly be right.

"I'm sort of… not at my best right now. And Sunthraze is waiting—"

"Do you think I give a damn about your boyfriend?" He leaned forward, Tempest saw, just barely in the glow, him light a candle on the table. "But if you need an excuse to be here… I can say that you wandered the hallways of my ship in the nude one too many times. We can call that indecent exposure. Or, I can have a report forged that outlines—in detail—your reckless endangerment of my men, chaining them to their bedposts, gagging, whipping them… that falls under torture, doesn't it? And maybe you don't do it because it's fun to have rough sex from time to time, as I well know… maybe you're interrogating them for the Scryers."

"The Scryers! Liadrin and Daphne and I… that was only temporary, so that we could find a way for you to let us in here with Belorim, you know that—"

"If I suddenly decide that I don't like you Tempest, you can become an enemy to Quel'thalas."

Three candles were lit between them now. Tempest was beginning to see him… and understand.

Kael'thas tossed his head back, exhaled, slipped a hand between his thighs reflexively and scratched himself. "I didn't see the point in dressing up, really. It's not going to be that kind of date."

"You're… naked."

He laughed and then clenched the cigar in his teeth before leaning forward once again. There was a long metal box on the table that he opened with three easy flicks of his wrist. This belonged to him, he'd done this many times before.

"According to my spies, you're dressed the part as well, don't look so surprised. Here, pick one."

"Wait, what are we doing, exactly? Why are you…"

Kael'thas looked annoyed, from what she could tell. "This is me… trying to make up for yesterday. I should have never told you about my name… and then I accused you when of course you would react that way, wouldn't anyone? So now we're completely alone, and even better for you, I don't apologize very often."

"But you don't have to—"

"No, shh. I want to. And I admit… I was nervous about saying anything this whole time. I was attracted to you, but I had you followed instead. I listened to what they had to say and did nothing."

She hesitated. "You're in love with me then."

Kael'thas' hands paused on the opened lid of the box. "It's more like this… I've been trying so very hard to learn from my teacher, but because of my inattention over the last few weeks, I'm going to fail the lesson for sure. However, there are other ways to earn high marks... Now, please, pick one."

Tempest came around to see. Several leather whips of varying sizes lay in velvet molds. A few were studded or wound round with jagged straps to leave welts. Tempest smiled, relieved, and pointed to one with a cured red criss-cross design in the shaft. "A gift? You shouldn't have. And you know me well, Kael'thas, an apple would _not_ have cut it. This is just my style, thank you. Okay, so what do you want me to tell the Lady about your success in the love department? After the little peep show and present, I'd be happy to make up whatever you want, and I'll even get Sunthraze to leave you alone too. We'll call this whole thing even and forget about minding your business. Heh, in my book, you've already passed with flying colors tonight."

Her wrists were still bound. Kael'thas took the leather weapon from the box and inspected it. He got it in his hand, flipped it around, played with it, grinned. "Good choice."

"Um… I can't really take it home, if I'm all tied up like this. By the way, one of your pig-headed guards molested me a little while ago…"

Kael'thas kissed her. He finished, a little unsure. That was when Tempest realized he wasn't playing around.

"First of all, the whip is for me to use. It's been mine for years. Second, I really hope you don't tell Liadrin anything about this. Sunthraze on the other hand… that cocky bastard deserves to know. Third… if you could, oh, I don't know… moan, say, scream my name, all three of my names, especially the middle one since it's already out in the open. That would be excellent."

"Wait a hot second here—"

"The chains aren't coming off either." Kael'thas smirked.

"Kael'thas! What about yesterday… we can't do this? I'm pretty sure I said…"

"Yes we can. We can be bad, be dirty." He whispered into her ear, "Fuck."

"Believe me, this is incredible… I want to jump on you—"

"Then do it."

"Please don't tempt me like this. I'm already with someone and I don't want to mess up again—"

Kael'thas picked her up and forced her arms around his neck. "You're sexy, you're mean, just like me. And I know you want to do this too. Make no mistake, Punkin. This is about having it hard and fast, about lust and revenge… Moreover, you want to sleep with the Prince of Quel'thalas. Here I am. I want to have naughty sex with one of my Bloodknights again. And here you are, around my waist, dressed the part."

"But you stole me… I was on my way to be with my boyfriend."

"Steal, intercept, out-slyed the one known far and wide for his wit, his absent charm, his fat mouth. Call it what you want." He kissed her again, whispered over her lips, "You can even… pretend to fall in love with me, the way you did with him on the night he fooled you."

She gasped, "Hey, I wasn't pretending… Wait, how did you even know I confessed that to Sunthraze—"

"I never play fair. Never in my life have I played fair." Kael'thas slapped her bottom with the hilt of the whip. It had a strange way of echoing in the dead silent room. Next was the sound of his breath against her ear, the feel of him stiff against the indecent strip of leather between her legs. Warm and slick… How could she say No when her body had already promised yes, a thousand times, yes?

Tempest reached down, slipped the leather thong aside. He thrust up and it was done. But the affair was far from over.

Kael'thas walked with Tempest to the bedroom in that way, lay her down on his exhilarating spell-thread sheets. Those ignited their arcane addictions but there was no magic to siphon. Just his body, alive with Nether magic, Demon magic, the lust for flame and destruction… Tempest did not know Kael'thas very well, she did not understand these things about him. But she could feel them, feel how fearsome and vile Kael'thas truly was, how somewhere between Quel'thalas and Outland he'd become part monster. And he took her like a villain, kept going without asking how she was or what she wanted. He growled at her, threatened her as he did it.

It was when Tempest remembered to play along that he was able to calm down as well. "I'm sorry that you didn't understand most of that… it was in High Demonic."

Tempest dug her nails deeper into his shoulders. Kael'thas seemed to like that. She asked, "What… were you saying to me?"

He grinned evilly. "Not to you, to your naughty parts. And I made all kinds of promises to swell and have them, to taste them, own your desire like an extension of my will. Tell me, do you know how Demons are enslaved?"

Tempest knew it was dangerous to answer, but far more perilous to disobey lusty Kael'thas in this moment as he indulged taking her again and again.

"No?"

Kael'thas reached up, hitched her chained arms to the bedpost, then knelt over her. He took the whip in hand, got distracted momentarily and kissed a red welt onto her breast. Tempest winced but then tossed her head back and smiled.

"You're very good at this." She exhaled softly.

"Wrong answer." He forced the butt of the whip beneath her chin, lifting it. "I am the best. And by the way… one breaks a Demon, to enslave him."

That was no lie. He kissed a trail down between her breasts, past her belly button, then grabbed each of her thighs with strong hands that left a bruise while he savored what was between them, gently. The force of his hands in contrast to the softness of his mouth in that place made Tempest writhe, the sensation competed with her senses and she was tempted to kick him.

At one point she must have, because Tempest returned to coherence with him freeing her hands from the chains. But while she smiled up at Kael'thas, slightly relieved, he went and chained her ankles next.

"Let's try that again, shall we?" and he had a black eye. That it didn't deter Kael'thas in the least, that made Tempest fear him, or else want him more… she wouldn't really know until morning.

Hours later, she remembered becoming exhausted, opening her eyes to the shuttered porn-trait while Kael'thas humped her awake. His 'Good Morning' was a bite against her neck that made her gasp in pain. She punched him hard in the shoulder for that. He laughed. Tempest was more surprised than hurt, she admitted after a while. So, he did it again which was awful.

"You're crazy, you love too hard." She was used to pain but what Kael'thas did teetered on desperation, this need to have a woman in the worst possible way. Good thing the late Saturna couldn't see. She'd kill her.

Kael'thas lay down at last to recover. Tempest was awake now though and straddled him.

"Are you really sure, Tempest the Raven? If you get me going again, at this point… I'm trying to give you a break when I've been waiting for this three years' coming… I'm capable of such unholy coupling like you wouldn't believe."

"Olvi'athon." She whispered again and again as she humped him. Kael'thas writhed with her gently, arms folded behind his head as they worked themselves back up from the lull after dangerous sex the previous night. "I want to know how you got this good."

Kael'thas yawned. What she was doing to him now was not enough. Nothing they had done up until this moment had even taken the edge off for him. Tempest was beginning to wish she never asked. He shrugged, "Why the hell not, it's too late for you anyway… A succubus showed me."

Tempest wondered if she regretted being with Kael'thas or not. "You mean…"

"I'm a sick sonofabitch." He boldly told her. "This isn't a game for me, it's the real thing. Demon sex."

"Good gods…" she would have stopped but he felt too good. After what she'd just heard, this scared her, that she was capable of learning to love this sort of thing. "But not because… you're an Olvi'athon? I was almost certain you'd say that."

"As I said yesterday, the name is just a prediction… people have judged me because of it, but so far in my life it's only made me awkward with women. And then sometimes I use it to scare the hell out of people I don't like… indulge their fears. It's only fair when they jump to conclusions about me in the first place. Sunthraze was a case in point yesterday."

"Wait, what? You threatened Sunthraze?"

Kael'thas seemed to realize that he'd slipped up in his state and said too much. But he was not ashamed. "All this… is to ruin him. Yes, I want you Tempest, you're intoxicating and what man wouldn't? But I said and did things last night for the sole purpose of seducing you so that I could act against him."

"Oh Kael'thas…" Tempest became distraught. "Everyone must know by now, with Sorn and all the people seeing me come in here… and I never came back out… How could you?"

"When those people speak, others you've seduced will break their silence as well. I warned Sunthraze that he suffer for trying to go against me. If he knows best he'll keep his mouth shut before I take even more away."

Tempest stopped and covered her eyes. "I did this to him… And obviously, you're doing the same thing to me, making me think you were some kind of broken-hearted monster that needed saving."

Kael'thas stroked her back lightly. "Did you truly hurt Sunthraze? No, I don't think so, Tempest. What was it you said to me yesterday… Shit happens?"

"This is different!"

"Oh no it isn't." Kael'thas sat up and kissed her. "And what can we do but make the best of it?" He moved her with his hips to make his point. "You've already betrayed him… Now you know what I'm really about and it doesn't really hurt… Come on, let's keep going."

He was horrible to even think she would consider it. "Why! Why did you go this far to spite your own Bloodknights, Kael'thas? What are you hiding? Are you truly as bad as Sunthraze and everyone else says?"

"I thought bad was good, you know, good-bad, _nasty_. Your words not mine."

Tempest couldn't stand to think anymore because she was so upset. Kael'thas took advantage, and lay ontop of her. She still wanted him, and hated herself for it. He saw and laughed, leading her away further and further away from the fidelity she now craved.

"I know you want me… I whipped you. I made you scream, licked your little wounds during the night… I played the part of Olvi'athon for you and you loved it, Tempest."

She admitted, "Yes, I did."

"Does that make me evil then, for wanting a woman and going after her, like you taught me? So then, did I ever really lie to you? Did I hurt you?"

"The pain…" she banished a smile, "wasn't so bad… but Sunthraze—"

"Sunthraze doesn't matter here. You told me to take advantage when the opportunity presented itself, and I did, I am. And if Sunthraze doesn't like you this way, then he doesn't deserve you. I don't believe what everyone else says, Tempest. There is nothing wrong with you."

She crossed legs around his thrusting hips and loved him back. "Then why do I hate myself for this?"

"Don't. I don't… help me Tempest. You know that I need this, please, after struggling for long…" At last, Tempest relaxed and let Kael'thas take her without reservation. He smiled gratefully and revealed just how needy he was. He could have been a helpless teenager again, selfishly slamming sensation into his cock, enraptured by how hot, soft and wet a woman could be. She breathed his name as he asked of her the night before and Kael'thas truly felt welcome. He groaned, throaty and vulnerable as sensation pounded down the length of his shaft, then deep, deep down where that pulled at the scrotum, all one swift shameless muscle, thrusting. It built up, back up, swelled until he wanted to release.

"Yes, you are wanted… I understand, Kael'thas. Whoever you are, or must be, I understand." Tempest hugged around his neck, kissed his shoulder.

Kael'thas let go. Safe and welcome inside of her. Then she tightened and pulled him back with her own orgasm. He leaned up, going with her, but after everything… where?

To hell.

Tempest looked Kael'thas in the eye, truly afraid. "You're the devil. What we just did… I am so fucked. I am glad that I was able to help you but… that's the worst part, that I liked hurting the people I care about. Kael'thas, everyone is going to be furious with us."

Kael'thas was smiling though. He couldn't say anything, not yet. They listened to each other breathe. Kael'thas could have pulled out some time ago, but he didn't tell her that. He buried his face into Tempest's shoulder instead.

"You are so… damned sexy. I'm glad, I don't care. Come hell or high water." Then he kissed her. "It's good that we fucked. So good."

She kissed him back. They did that for a while, wanting to do more but not sure if they had the guts to have reckless sex again. First to hurt others last night, then again this morning to save him… what would a third time mean?

Kael'thas sat up against the pillows and the headboard, and gave Tempest a hug. She confessed to him, "I know that you did this to be mean, Kael'thas… but even so I'll admit it was nice." A nervous laugh, "Nor was it fair, I have an oath to Prince and Country, you know."

"Yes, Tempest." Kael'thas stroked her short red hair lovingly. "This afternoon, I am still your Prince. And this bed, this is our country."

"That's so irreverent—"

"Come on… say it. Say it Tempest." He seized a handful of her scarlet hair, close to the scalp, pulled.

"My life… for my Prince."

"Oh… such a good girl," Kael'thas groaned and lay on top of her once more. "… Thank you, for taking pity on me. I will never forget your kindness."

"Just for fun this third time? Olvi'athon?"

"Mmm… yes. From now on, and for always. Free of anger, hurt, lament… As it should be."

The man who allowed everyone to think he was a monster, and then turned out only to be a mean lover… Somehow along the way, and Tempest could not explain this, Kael'thas had become her friend.

"Do you really think that I'm a good person… just fine the way I am, Kael'thas?"

A savage kiss that also silenced her, "Yes Punkin. Of course, when you've already assured me of the very same."


	28. Taming a Tempest

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Taming a Tempest**

"YOU'RE FREAKING KIDDING ME!"

Tempest cowered when Kael'thas caught up to her near the doors and started shouting. "Look, Kael'thas it isn't you… It's me—"

"Oh come on!" He tossed his head back and laughed, frustrated at the situation. "If I was bad last night, awful enough that you would try to sneak away in the morning without even a 'thank you Kael'thas' or 'touch me again and I'll pummel you Kael'thas', then just say so! But taking the blame to spare my feelings? That's the oldest excuse in the book…"

"But I mean it, Kael'thas. While I dozed, I was thinking… about where this could lead and what it would mean for me—"

"I'm going to be completely up front with you, alright. I just want sex with you, Tempest. Lots of it. Not a thing more."

"Right, and I appreciate your honesty, Kael'thas. In fact, if you'd said just now that you were in love with me, I wouldn't believe it."

"Right, but I do like you..." Kael'thas realized what he'd just said and snapped his mouth shut. "So what's with this walking out on me then? I thought we had a good time last night..." a little menacing, "Punkin."

Tempest fidgeted. "Yes, so… sex. That's what I want from you too… _would_ want from you, if we kept this up. It's what I figured out." She took a step closer. "Kael'thas, you have some incredibly naughty appetites that I only saw the edge of. You're so bad, but you're so good at being bad. You're not afraid to take risks, it makes you an excellent lover. I had an insanely wonderful time."

"Really?" he interrupted.

"… you would corrupt me. I mean, really turn me inside out and upside down forever if I kept coming back to you. I don't know that I would like myself, know myself anymore. And that isn't because you're into some wicked things. It's because… I've been trying to lose myself in wicked things. Sleeping with you has helped me to see that I've been pushing and pushing myself all along to be someone that I wasn't. Mean and big and bad so that I couldn't be afraid of getting hurt."

"Tempest, did I somehow… hurt you?"

"No." She played with her hair a bit and then pushed it back out of her face. For the first time, Kael'thas could clearly see all of her features. Both eyes darted about cautiously. She did look frightened.

"I've been hurting myself. Kael'thas, I'm in love with another man, really in love. But I didn't want to let myself be with him—"

"So you sabatoged it. With me."

"Don't take it personally… Um, especially because I cheated on Sunthraze with Pyorin first… then a bunch of other random guys... and then you."

Kael'thas let out a low whistle.

"If I keep this up with you, I am going to remain who I've been pretending to be. But I don't want to be this… Tempest Keep raven or whatever it is I've become anymore. And not just here, in other places. Lady Liadrin or Daphne could tell you the full story, but for now know that I'm fed up with taking such huge risks with my heart and body. And then another, even scarier revelation: I want to enjoy loving this one man who's been kind to me. I don't know where I'll end up with loving Sunthraze back, and it sort of sucks that I can only sleep with one guy while I'm doing it. But, if I want Sunthraze, really, it's only fair to stick with him right? It's what you told me the other day... The very thing I've been afraid of."

"Might I share something with you, about fidelity?" Which was a strange thing for Kael'thas to ask while standing naked in front of her, at the center of his living room.

Tempest agreed, managing to stay focused on his face, for the most part.

"For three years, I have been saving myself for a woman… who doesn't exist anymore. When Saturna died, I was crushed. I didn't want to go on. And that was understandable, natural. However, squandering those lessons about love that I gained from her, refusing to allow myself the kind of love I needed—and you know now the kind of appetite I have—was wrong. Holding onto the past like that was just torture, Tempest. What I did with you last night, I should have done with a stranger a long time ago. Yes, mourning is a process, and I could only really do it when I was ready. But the truth is, I _was_ ready. I was ready when I first—do _not_ tell anyone this—summoned Ruthsalia and asked for her help. I knew that I deserved better, that I could have tried harder, but I didn't want to go through the pain of starting over. I settled for less."

He paced a bit. "But there's another side to the coin too. Before, when Saturna was living, I was proud to have her all to myself. She wanted a good man, a strong man, a successful man. Someone she could love and depend on—and the Sun knows Blaize wasn't it—and I did that for her. We had a lot of really rough patches, but dammit, if there was one thing I was going to do for her, it was being faithful. Now, I'm a man—and okay so after meeting you I know women are capable of it too—and a Sunstrider at that, which means my eyes don't just wander from time to time… there's also this pressure to follow in my ancestors' footsteps. Bless his soul, but my father was a notorious lecher while I was in Silvermoon and I knew it. It's not a curse exactly, Tempest. That's just sort of the family excuse. What it actually is, is an unbelievable temptation to do what Dath'remar and all those others did, when women came to them believing—and not falsely either—that their courage and magic had saved an entire race of people. All that is to say… I had opportunities while I was with Saturna, very many of them. Women came up to me at the ball, they found me especially after, when they saw how happy I was making Saturna. It was impossible to carry on the way we did, having a blatant sexual affair in Blaize's face, without other women hearing about it and being tempted."

"Did you… cheat on Saturna?"

Kael'thas smiled. "Not once. I loved her deeply. I gave her everything that I had, and it was a joy to do. I did not regret it then, and I do not regret it now. Lust is natural. You can't control who you feel it for really. But you can control your actions. Being this… handsome fairytale Prince that Saturna needed to believe in so badly, that she fought across Outland for, was incredibly satisfying. But the truth is, Tempest, perfect men like that don't exist. I mean, how in the hell am I supposed to know what a woman wants every time she's in a strange mood, or always be in the mood or awake enough to carry out a carnal act? Not possible. But Saturna put me up on this pedestal, she believed in me, and it was really obsessive too… but I liked pretending a little for her. Whether it was her then or will be someone else way down the line in the future, I know that I am capable of making a commitment. Do you know why? Because there is something deeply satisfying about being loyal. It's selfless, isn't it? Some people say that deep down, everyone wants to be bad, vile. But I think that for a lot of us, deep down we want to be good, innocent, love everyone at once and get that love back. That's how children are, how Belorim is. He taught me that, and recently, I see it in myself."

Kael'thas came back from pacing and stood before Tempest. "If you really do love Sunthraze—for what reason in this life I can't possibly fathom," he joked, and Tempest did laugh, "...then you know what you have to do, to take good care of him, and yourself at the same time. "But by all means… if you really are who you've been these past few months, if you want to have wild sex with strangers for the rest of you life… then goddamit, Tempest, don't tell me that I rocked your world last night and leave me hanging like this!"

"Well… that went a little selfishly at the end there."

"I haven't had sex with a real woman in three whole years, and you're turning me down after everything went _right_. Once again, are you freaking kidding me?!"

"You're starting to sound desperate, and that isn't cute."

Kael'thas smiled absently. "Okay, so I'll admit that I'm not used to… well, let's just say Saturna took good care of me. I never would have been pushed to my wits end about something like this. Sex, you know."

"She was very good for you, emotionally and physically… the best you've ever had. I can tell."

"The love of my life. I can accept that now. But that's alright. I am more than just the man who won Saturna Whiteblade, aren't I? There is more to my life. I am good enough… I can win over other women. I can move on." Then he folded his hands behind his back. "Even if you go, I'll be just fine."

Tempest backed toward the door, gently pressed her point. "I might go then."

Kael'thas took a deep breath, and let it out happily. "Do as you must. Though… I really can't let you leave until I ask what you see in him? Not that I'm jealous, but _Sunthraze_? Come on… that's really been stumping me."

Tempest leaned against the wall near the beautiful red doors. She rubbed a forefinger into the white plaster.

"He likes fighting with me. Not, you know… like he's in my way or anything. But he sees how I am, how outrageous and ridiculous at times, and Sunthraze plays with me. That's what it is. He's not trying to change me… whether to make me repent for who I am or give into evil Olvi'athon-sized urges… Sunthraze just likes to enjoy me. And he makes me feel like I should be the best me I can be for him... so that we can keep having so much fun fighting together."

"Well then, good for you. To be in a relationship that is just fun. That's really a very great thing, Tempest." He made a gesture at the doors and they opened. Then Kael'thas winced and walked aside so that he couldn't be seen so easily far down the glass hallway in his birthday suit.

Tempest waved. "You're so silly. I hope you find what you're looking for, Kael'thas."

He grinned, she thought, from the angle at which she departed. But then Fennore came running down the hallway and took one look at Tempest, then he glanced over her shoulder at Kael'thas through the red doors and started yelling.

"Oh I'd heard the rumors, but I didn't truly believe—"

Kael'thas promptly told Fennore to 'shut the hell up when he was in such a bad mood' and sat dejected on the edge of his desk. The doors shut and Kael'thas went to throw the old K.O.S. monogrammed pajamas back on.

While Mavia grinned oddly and twirled her whip around in the free hand that wasn't twined around her lover, Kael'thas worked up the courage to explain, "I just got dumped."

"That's not what it looks like! Do you know how angry Lady Liadrin is, Kael'thas?"

"She already knows? That fast?"

"Well… she doesn't, not yet, but when Tempest shows up hours late for Morning Inspection in nothing but that cloak of hers, it's going to be more than obvious. And everyone in the Nexus is already freaking out, as if Liadrin already knew… the wrath of a Bloodknight Matriarch is a bad thing! A very, very bad thing… she's going to kill me when she finds out, then you!"

Kael'thas cracked his knuckles and looked at nothing. "No she's not. I'm the Prince of Quel'thalas, for one, and secondly, who is going to tell her that you have anything to do with this, Fennore? Certainly not me. All of this is to cover both our asses…" and then he corrected, considering Illidan's power over the collar, "as far as those nasty rumors are concerned."

"Hmm, well I suppose that makes sense… Wait! What have I got to do with any of this? I didn't know that you were going to kidnap Tempest in the middle of the night and force her to—"

"Fennore! Despite how she hurried out of here, I can assure you, there was no forcing involved, it wasn't needed. Besides, I'm not talking about that redhead, but the other one… Sunthraze has got to be a mess by now, am I right?"

"Well… I guess… I hear he hasn't left his room all morning, Daphne and Pyorin went to check on him a long time ago."

"And so Sunthraze could have gone to Lady Liadrin with what he thinks he knows but he didn't." Kael'thas grinned. "The phrase best describing his current condition would be... 'scared shitless' because I got to him in the one way he didn't expect. Sunthraze thought that he was invulnerable and could just threaten me, but being a warlock is more than just casting spells, it's about exploiting the enemy's weaknesses with your mind… Ruthlessness is a science, Fennore. Few people are willing to accept that there are practical uses for cruelty."

_So you truly have befriended Fennore the Immortal? To have shared your warlock secrets with a mere Bloodknight. And this one you have raised up above all the others. Do you think that I can't see it, Kael'thas? You are doing more than just playing games with your victims. This time, I sense…_

Kael'thas corrected himself from instructing Fennore, teacher to student, when Illidan could hear. "Bloodknight Fennore. Yesterday, I asked you come to my quarters at this hour for a reason—"

"Well, actually, you said nine o'clock in the morning, but I knocked and no one answered, so I had to keep coming back and coming back…"

"Really? What time is it now, then?" Kael'thas squinted eyes at the slivers of sunlight coming through his boarded up balcony.

"About four in the afternoon, I'd say."

Kael'thas slipped into evil, self-satisfied laughter that Fennore rolled his eyes at. "Yes, yes... congratulations, you finally slept with a real, willful woman. For a night and nearly a whole day, in fact. But what did you want me for, my Prince?"

"I want you to go rough up Sunthraze. Confirm his worst fears about me… maybe you could make him think I really am some Olvi'athon that owns his girlfriend's soul now or somesuch… Just make sure that Sunthraze doesn't miss the point of what I did last night. It wasn't so much for Tempest, as it was for him."

Fennore objected at first, but he was promptly reminded of how cruel Sunthraze had been to him over the years. For all the relentless teasing, the disrespect, and now accusations that he was the least loyal of the Nexites, when Fennore had only been trying to mind their Prince… It was hinted that Fennore could also indulge in his new warlock powers, and that should have sealed the deal, but it was beginning to look like Fennore, though a fellow warlock, followed a different moral creed than even his master.

Kael'thas grinned like a predator, when he at last realized just how to maneuver this Bloodknight too. "Well what do you think of my current actions, Mavia? Bending Sunthraze's woman over my knee, and then breaking the man's heart… was that wrong? Am I really the monster everyone fears I am, just because of some coincidence in my name?"

As if Mavia had a choice in the matter. She and Kael'thas had an arrangement that ensured she would always be on his side. For as long as the Coven Master could hold her allegiance with Kil'jaeden over her head, Fennore would never be able to disagree with Kael'thas again. Without looking Fennore in the eye, because she knew how much he loved and valued her opinion, "No, my Prince. I believe Tempestraven should have submitted to you even sooner."

"Mavia! You're siding with him over me? But… why?"

"Do as I say, Fennore." Kael'thas stepped in. "With the Demon woman my example won you in the first place, and the very good reasons I already gave you to stand up to your enemy. Yes, I am using you, and you know this, but the difference between you and everyone else is that I'm fond of you. So you are going to enjoy being manipulated. And if you like it... then what's the harm, really?"

"Like Tempest, last night?"

Fennore and Kael'thas blinked at Mavia's deduction. Through their soul link, Illidan roared with laughter.

_It's only obvious that you are truly fond of the woman, Kael'thas…_

"It was just one night… and not even that, I just wanted revenge on Sunthraze. That's all, Illidan."

_And you wanted revenge on Tempest too, for rejecting you earlier. But it wasn't enough, was it, Brother? Even now, you miss her… _

Kael'thas put them out of his apartments then and began bickering with Illidan which appeared one sided, and he sounded as mad and frustrated as he looked that afternoon, to be left all alone after a passionate night with a woman.

_No, I won't hear it, Kael'thas. I know you. You let that woman go because you know that she hasn't got anyplace to go away to. She is already caught in your trap, and you are trying to keep her, you arrogant fool. But you are doing more than just playing little games with them, and with me, I can sense it... You will fail._

"If the other Bloodknights want to hang Tempest, then so be it… I gave her a chance to stay safe at my side, and she rejected it."

_Ah, but you did not warn her of the danger. That is because you wish for her to fall into it and then come running to you… Very interesting, Kael'thas. I will be watching._

Kael'thas harrumphed, and went back to his bedroom to sleep. That was when he remembered he had a son, threw on some clothes and raced out of there to check on Belorim. Kael'thas hoped that he wouldn't be forced to explain certain things…

_Some time later, in Sunthraze's room…_

"Last night when I heard I… I just took Belorim to Lady Liadrin, and said I was feeling sick. You guys, I just didn't know what else to do or say… But we know that it's true now. Tempest was lying to all of us. Why would she do that, though?"

Daphne spoke in such soft tones where she sat on Sunthraze's bed. The short redhead had dark rings around his eyes and leaned over on his knees next to her. Pyorin leaned near the door, painfully aware of his fast-wearing welcome.

"Sunthraze… I swear, I didn't—"

"Know that she was in your bed all those times? Or, uh… maybe you're upset about her sleeping with all those other men, cheating on _you_ at the same time she was cheating on me. It's just… sick."

Daphne winced, "Tempest is a bit of a lost soul, that's all."

"Daphne's right, Sunthraze. The war with the Scourge affected all of us in terrible ways. And Tempest was right there with me when Arthas took Lady Sylvanas…"

"Pyorin! Dude, why are you still here?!"

Daphne continued to rub Sunthraze's back in little circles. "She hurt all of us… Take me, for instance. Here I was practically in love with Pyorin—"

A hopeful, "Really?"

"...And she goes and proves that he really is a dumb skirt-chasing hypocrite deep down. Heck, maybe Tempest did me a favor, by clearly lying to me and keeping Pyorin and I apart all this time… In fact, Pyorin, why _are_ you still here!"

There was a knock on the door and Pyorin was glad to answer it at that point, anything to avoid getting the bum's rush once and for all when his last two friends looked so vengeful.

A Demoness the color of ambrosia stalked into the room, palm outstretched, and Daphne gave a little cry before slumping over on the bed. Then the sneering half-woman half monster flicked her whip at Pyorin and he was stuck in a trance by the door. Mavia purred at the seduced Bloodknight, asked him to close and lock the door behind her Master.

"Your… what? Mavia, what's going on here?" Sunthraze stood and demanded.

Fennore the Immortal entered right then, looked around the room to see if his succubus pet had done a good job, and then rewarded her with a fond pat on the head.

"Do I really have to explain everything to you now, Blood Brother, when it was so obvious all along? Think about it, Brother Sly. Think on all the strange things that happened on this ship, that you could hardly prove but you believed in regardless, with conviction." Fennore stood very close to Sunthraze while Mavia played with Pyorin in her seduction spell. "Yes, I am a warlock. And my sweet love, my Mistress of Oblivion, she is a fully-fledged Bloodknight."

"She'd have to be loyal to Kael'thas for that—"

"Oh, but we are. We are the Coven of Two… and now you are going to be one of us as well, whether you like it or not. Master Kael'thas wants something from you and you are going to give it to him. Brother Sly, you are going to show our Prince real respect at long last."

Sunthraze rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. Evidently, he hadn't slept. "You goddamned idiot. Fennore, Kael'thas is lost. He's been that way since the Black Temple, only you didn't want to see that. Saturna didn't either, because she was in love with him… and isn't that also convenient, that at the very moment when Kael'thas needed to be dealt with, Mother Whiteblade found herself pregnant and conflicted over what to do with her baby's father. Haven't you ever thought about that, you dolt? And now you're a warlock bonded to Kael'thas and you've got that Demon-woman finally… Obviously, our Prince is using you in the same way, seducing you with power so that you'll do exactly what he wants! And then, by the Sun! Don't get me started on what he did to Tempest and I last night, to scare us… well I'm sick of it!"

Mavia had been watching them, alert, and sprang into action before Sunthraze could try it. "Now, Demon-lover, are you going to help me or not—"

Hammer of Justice. Sunthraze had his sword in hand before even finishing his own sentence made for the door. Mavia blocked his desperate escape. While Fennore was incapacitated by the spell Sunthraze came at her with a golden Seal of Command, red blade raised. Mavia scrambled between his legs. She slid from under him as Sunthraze turned to catch her, snarled at how close he nearly came, then used her claws to scale the stone wall, limbs reaching and scraping unnaturally long and fast like a spider. She stopped overhead and for a moment the hissing Demon woman hung upside down. She and Sunthraze faced off. His expression was startled, the hilt of his sword slipped in sweaty palms. Mavia stretched her black lips in a nasty smile. The tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth and lusty purring turned into a threatening growl that made Sunthraze flinch.

"You come down here and fight me like a—"

And she did.

Mavia slashed with her whip, but Sunthraze was able to parry and then came around again, hard, and sliced the leather weapon in two. The sword was heavy and Sunthraze had to pull a breath to recover before dragging it back up for his next attack. Mavia raised her empty claws to do something in the interim, but the sly Bloodknight lashed out with a hand and cast an singing Exorcism spell directly into her face.

Fennore came to at that moment to see Sunthraze recoil at what came next. Mavia did not go down. She roared that she liked it, and asked for another.

Now they both closed in on Sunthraze who found his sword useless against the warlock who cast curse after curse upon him and the succubus that started to say 'she'd gladly eat his Light spells for breakfast.'

Fennore said, "Kael'thas is an Olvi'athon, true as we are worse than you could have ever imagined in your nightmares. That is proof enough that if you go to Liadrin now and tell her that our Master is accepting help from the Legion, his threats against your woman will keep. He'll practically own her soul with his magic, Sunthraze, do you want that? Kael'thas would gladly do it, he needs little else to convince him that Tempest is a prize worth keeping as it is."

Mavia cocked her head to the side and purred her agreement. Daphne and Pyorin were still stuck in their helpless states. One unconscious on the bed, the other slumped over near the doorway.

"Help from the Legion? Fennore, are you really so naïve… it won't end there. Kael'thas is sick, he's selfish… he's damned! And he's going to take you straight to hell with him."

"And your girlfriend will go as well. Swear your allegiance!" Mavia got what was left of her whip and jabbed Sunthraze with it.

"There's a good reason why Demons aren't meant to be Bloodknights… Fennore, you dumbass." He sighed, "Of course I'm in. I don't have any other choice, when I love Tempest."

Fennore played dumb while explaining to a revived Daphne and Pyorin that he and Mavia stopped by to see how his old Blood Brother was doing. Sunthraze grudgingly backed the story and clapped Fennore on the back. It was difficult for him to hide his ire though. Fennore commiserated with them for a bit, though it was obvious that Tempest's betrayal cost him nothing, compared to their frustrations. Together, the three of them convinced Daphne and Pyorin that everything was going to be fine. And what about Sunthraze's long-standing theory? That Fennore was helping Kael'thas to ruin everything behind the scenes?

"Oh, not this old Demon-loving bastard." And Sunthraze got his re-friended Blood Brother in a headlock and pretended to muss his hair, a bit too hard. "Besides… it was just a joke, to mess with you all. Things get so boring around here, know? Well, you don't look like you're laughing, but meh, you'll get over it. Just like I'm about to get over Tempest after being up all night with it."

Pyorin shook his head, disappointed, and Daphne sniped on her way out, "You ever heard of the boy who cried 'wolf?'"

Sunthraze glared at Fennore when they were once again alone in the sealed room with the succubus. "Yeah, I remember alright. He played the same damned joke on people one time too many… and so no one listened when there really was a wolf. The wolf is Kael'thas, by the way. I still believe that."

"But not me or Mavia? I'm disappointed."

"By the way, why are you still here? I gave you what you wanted, Demon-lover."

Panicked knocking and Tempest's pleas came through the door. Sunthraze rushed forward and locked it, which made Mavia laugh.

"That, actually." Fennore whispered and had a seat on the bed next to his creepy woman. "I'm curious to see how you are going to handle this, according to our new arrangement."

Sunthraze was embarrassed at how he'd shunned Tempest already, by locking the door. He hated them both in that moment, and a daring look came over him, he wanted to prove them both wrong, now more than ever.

"Sunthraze?" Tempest's voice was a bit muffled. "Please let me in… I'm so sorry. I just want a chance to explain."

"Why, when you're just going to seduce me again, make a fool of me…"

"I swear I won't. Please? I really do love you. But I only figured that out last night."

"So now you're going to justify sleeping with Kael'thas! And I guess cheating on me with Pyorin and all those other men, and hurting Daphne like that… all of those things were necessary too, I take it, to save their souls or whatever."

She hesitated. "I know that going behind your back like that was wrong. Ever since the war, I've felt out of control. I know how it is for Pyorin, I do. But I tried to help him with his thing, though I didn't fully understand it. And last night, I came to understand exactly what is wrong with Kael'thas, how his name is like a brand he can't escape… he doubts himself so much, and he's in so much pain. Saturna was the only one who loved him, absolutely, after he lost his father. When faced with that, I felt I had to. I know you understand when I say that sometimes sex is good for the spirit. How many conversations have you and I had about my feelings, the very same—"

"What about Belorim, huh? Did you even consider him, Tempest? What kind of man is Kael'thas, that he would lie and tell you that he's so pathetic and lonely with no one to love him when that boy worships his father! Or maybe that is really the sort of night you had, the kind where a Prince of Quel'thalas forgets that he's even a father, and you forget that you have friends, a man who loves you… and a damned brotherhood of Bloodknights to consider! Consensus or death, remember? Don't you even care about yourself!"

Tempest pounded on the door with both fists, it seemed, and it made Sunthraze hop back a step. On the bed, Mavia chewed a claw and laughed wickedly at Fennore that this was most certainly the best part.

"Wait, do you have another woman in there with you? Already?"

Sunthraze was hurt and blurt out, "So, what of it? And it's nothing less than what you did to me."

A heavy pause. The door settled in its frame. One imagined that Tempest leaned on it. "You said that you still loved me. Maybe you didn't mean to," and one could hear real pain in her voice now, tears, "but you let that slip. I made a mistake before and you forgave me. Please, baby… I know it sounds awful, but I was being myself last night with Kael'thas. I really helped him, I'm sure that I did the right thing with him. All this time, he needed it. And maybe if I'd been doing the right thing for _myself_ all along, Kael'thas and I would have done this when I first got here, let it out of our systems. Then after, I would have met you and…"

"So it's my fault, for daring to go after someone who was way out of my league, for being up front with you, and good to you, just you. Tempest, what you're saying is simply wrong."

She asked him to clarify, and Sunthraze did so without reservation. "When we first got together, I told my real friends that I wasn't going to let you walk all over me. I did the first time you cheated on me, and it hurt like hell, but I believed you when you said that it was just a misunderstanding. However, that was a lie. To my face. So right now, I'm going to do you one better, because I actually respect you. The truth, which would hurt if you could see how furious I am with you right now, is that I don't put up with people's crap. Not Demon-lover's not yours, nor Kael'thas' threats, not anyone's!" though Sunthraze was stuck and he knew it. A sharp look from Fennore on the bed reminded him of it. Defeated, Sunthraze settled on, "I never have, and I never will. Please just… go away Tempest. It's over. I can't be with a woman who would… out think me because she knows I love that, then use it to toy with me. What you did wasn't noble. How could it ever be, with someone like Kael'thas? No, I disagree with you, sweetheart. You and him together, that was ruthless."

After Tempest was too quiet to have remained by the door, Fennore spoke up, "Sunthraze… I never told you to do all of that."

"Do all of what?" Sunthraze flared, though he knew exactly what his once-friend meant. "Well it's the same, isn't it? She wants Kael'thas now, not me, so why fight it? And she drives me crazy, with her lies… all the goddamn lies that I can't take anymore!"

The healer and what else gently pressed, "But I know you. Your Bloodknight name isn't a fluke… like so many people believed mine was. I became a warlock because I wanted respect, at last, Sunthraze. You on the other hand… I always believed that you already had it. I thought highly of you even when you berated me, because you're good at what you do. Surely, you realize that you could have kept Tempest by forgiving her _and _safeguarded the truth about the Legion from Lady Liadrin. Why did you just throw things with Tempest away?"

"I'm through, okay Demon-lover? With women, with friends… She really hurt me, okay! Can you just leave now? Stop pretending like you give a shit." Sunthraze sat right on the floor, bereft. "I'm mad at everyone right now… I just need this day to end… so very badly."

Fennore stood in the open doorway, in awe of the extent of Kael'thas' truly Olvi'athon-like suggestive influence, or the stinging results of pure and cold-hearted ruthlessness Kael'thas spoke about earlier… towards people who did not deserve it… he didn't know which unsettled him more.

"I'm… sorry." Fennore said, and the door was slammed in his face. "Did we do the right thing, Mavia, by obeying the Master?"

Mavia reached out a hand and prevented Fennore from stepping on Tempest who was still sitting broken-hearted on Sunthraze's doorstep. She looked like a vagabond with no place else to go. And considering how furious Daphne, Pyorin, and Lady Liadrin were, that was most likely true. They each took large steps around the woman stuck in her own debilitating misery and went down the hallway.

"You never did answer me Mavia." Fennore felt irritated by Mavia's silence that was starting to feel strategic, purposeful, and it angered him that he didn't fully understand it.

"I know why you were first attracted to me, my Master. It is the same reason why you have convinced yourself that Kael'thas is worth serving now. It is also the answer to your question. Whether what we did was right or wrong… Vakka zu taxka. Morality does not matter, where we three are going."

Fennore did not want to understand. "Nevermind. No more of this talk… let's just go home. I only want to hold you and love you Mavia, and forget about the rest. While we still can. And poor Tempest. She really is alone—"

"Love, you are truly shortsighted if you still cannot see that even this is by design. Notice, how the lights in Master Kael'thas' quarters are still on. All the rest are dark at this hour, but he is a beacon." After a silence, "I do not believe warlocks merely train Demons. The influence goes both ways. Kael'thas is Bloodmage but also a seducer. Yes, Ruthsalia is broken, but she will have a home forever, because she feeds her master gentleness and love. Those are his weaknesses. Tempest's is more physical and that is what Kael'thas waves before her face tonight like fresh meat."

"And mine?"

"You like to believe that I am good… but I am Oblivion herself. You even named me."

It was natural to conclude then, that Fennore knew Mavia was not what he believed her to be, because she was deftly using it against him, according to that analysis. Fennore saw but chose to say nothing.

_Later that evening…_

Maybe she went back to him because she needed that ego stroke again so badly, which Tempest normally sought out in the form of sex. Or it could be because a rumor went about the ship that Lady Liadrin was stalking up and down corridors shouting for Tempest with the Whiteblade drawn and a Seal of Blood spell so red it matched the color of her eyes...

As for Kael'thas, despite how angry his Bloodknights were, it was easy to keep his son well out of the way of deceptive work. Daphne and Pyorin were, when it got right down to things, just soldiers that Kael'thas had absolute dominion over when he wanted a babysitter. The Prince had pulled the strings deftly, a place for every Bloodknight and every Bloodknight in his or her place. Tempest and her charms had been a surprise in the midst of all the plotting though. Kael'thas hadn't expected to want her so much… but that was nearly perfectly aligned now as well.

Kael'thas had pried the wooden boards away from the sealed balcony earlier in the day. Now, after sunset, Kael'thas had grown beyond confident, to recklessly bold. He in a chair and naked, with Tempest facing him in his lap. As the night gathered, he thrust inside of her more gently. In the end, he was just a man in need. She was a woman who wanted the same things, to be loved and not forgotten. They were able to speak to each other in soft tones.

"I'm sorry for what Sunthraze did to you, Tempest."

"No you're not."

He kissed between her breasts, and went along enjoying her until he could speak again. "Sadly, you can't go back to him now. Not anymore."

"I know. And I have my pride, I won't… But I still want to though. I already told you, how I feel about him."

"I don't care how you feel about that idiotic—" Kael'thas tried again. She was able to make him feel so good, slip on his words. "Punkin, it's impossible." He breathed and went on. The needy breaths turned to moaning and not long after, Kael'thas clutched her hip suddenly and paused while he came. Her fingers entwined in his hair. She pulled it without really meaning to, and Kael'thas smiled at how that was a sign it felt good to her as well. They inhaled and exhaled together afterward. One feeling good, the other bad… but at least they were surviving the betrayal together. "My Tempest… so bad and beautiful—"

"You don't care about me, at all, do you Kael'thas?"

He took too long to figure out what she wanted to hear.

Tempest concluded, "But yet… I'm still very fond of you. You're a real piece of work, my Prince."

"I'm addicting." He stroked her sweaty back. "To be honest," and he felt himself truly delving this far with her for some reason, "Few people, especially not women, can be with me like this. So what I said earlier today, about me liking you—"

But Tempest reached behind them to the box of cigars on a glass table and turned to face the stars. She wanted to smoke, not talk. Kael'thas wondered how he got lost this evening and found himself wanting the opposite.

"Punkin, you can't have really loved Sunthraze, right? Is that what you wanted, to deal with such an inflexible, mean bastard? Okay, so I'm not offering you any better… hardly that even because I just want to sleep with you again and again…"

_You've told her this many times today already Kael'thas. The woman you want is already in your lap, so whom are you trying to convince?_

Illidan was always there, in the periphery. Kael'thas refused to acknowledge him now, especially when he sensed his Demon friend was right. "Look, Tempest, the truth is, I've gotten to know you better since yesterday, even if that sounds strange… I don't think you should go chasing after him. You can do so much better than Sunthraze."

_And so you are offering yourself in exchange? This is amusing._

Kael'thas raised his voice, "Sunthraze had his chance, but he was too immature to either fight for you or with me. I mean, if he's just going to sit on the sidelines and crack jokes because he's afraid like always, not even be a real man, I wouldn't waste my time."

"Sunthraze is sensitive deep down, you don't understand. I don't blame him for being upset... Maybe I should try again. Get his forgiveness..."

"He's a punk." Kael'thas went back to his cigar, and sounded bitter.

Tempest chanced, "This is about Saturna, isn't it?"

_Go on, tell her that it isn't. Tell her that you were not in control last night. That you, in fact, lost control. She owned your desire and ruined you, the first to do so in a long time. And for an Olvi'athon to lose himself in a woman…You are starting to need her Kael'thas. We are starting to like her._

_She's just a friend, Illidan. _

_You are no fool. You know that is impossible for a man to be simply friends with Tempest the Raven. You will always want her and now you are afraid that you can't keep her. That is why you were so mean to her last night, and then in the afternoon you pretended to be kind…right now, fully aware of which she prefers, you have chosen to be honest. It does not suit whatever dark purpose you are keeping from me. She hasn't got shackles on her anymore, has she? Every other Bloodknight has been hopelessly distracted away from your dark doings except for this one, you'll see. It will ruin you Kael'thas. Then you will confess everything to me._

_I was being kind... I really went through that with Saturna... _A frustrated sigh. _This is not the time, Illidan._

"Watch your back around him, is all I have to say." Kael'thas held Tempest close and wasn't sure if he was speaking about Sunthraze or Illidan in that moment. "Sure, I'll… admit that it's about Saturna. Sunthraze was too hard on me after she was lost, and it was painful... Alright, so maybe I'm biased, or maybe I'm just being your friend or both… whatever. After last night I've chosen to move on with my life, Tempest. You should take this opportunity and decide what you want too."

_For her to fuck you like that for ever and ever? You'd love for her to give in and say that, I can feel it at the sharp edge of your tongue. Oh Kael'thas, you're as pathetic as if last night was your first time with a woman. Surely, you see that is what is going on here, why you are so attached. Brother, if you are going to do this, I caution you to guard your heart._

_Illidan, you are NOT the one to… Shut up! Of all people, I don't want your advice on women._

"Kael'thas, I know that you are manipulating me. In fact, you've been after this all day, Kael'thas. You want Sunthraze and I to remain apart."

Kael'thas continued to smoke and stare off into the royal purple sky. "But is that really such a bad thing, for the Prince of Quel'thalas to be seducing you, Tempest?"

"No. It's not exactly awful… But if you keep it up, I can't consider you a friend." And she sounded sad. "Kael'thas, why are you pulling these strings? I don't understand? It's not like what I did with Pyorin and Daphne. It's somehow… worse."

_Yes, I'd like to know as well._

Kael'thas furrowed his brow, annoyed with Illidan, and cocked the cigar in two fingers. "I told you the truth already, but I guess you missed it, the way I dressed it up last night, and used it against you… Tempest, I exposed you for what you are to everyone… Or were, as you asserted earlier. I broke up you and your lover on purpose so that I could sleep with you, Tempest." After that, he couldn't keep the hope out of his voice. "But you're still speaking to me, calling me your friend eventhough I felt I had to do it… that's nice. Fortunate, in fact."

Tempest defended herself. "It's only because I sense you've got a very good reason to throw off Sunthraze. Regardless of what the other Bloodknights think I still believe there's a good reason to remain loyal to you, Kael'thas. Is there? You must be protecting someone… Belorim, maybe? Kael'thas, you can trust me with whatever it is. After last night, I don't think I could ever see you as purely cold-hearted, in the same way you no longer see me as this… conquest without a heart."

Kael'thas opened arms to her and she put out her cigar, hugged and cried on his shoulder.

"Yes, it's been a long night and day for both of us, hasn't it? Tempest, I know you, and you know me now, completely. I think you already have the answer to your own question, Punkin. But you won't tell anyone what you think, will you? Just like Sunthraze knows better than to betray his Prince..."

_Of course that's vague enough so that both she and I have to draw our own conclusions. Kael'thas, you truly annoy me with your double-talking._

Tempest sensed the dishonesty as well. "These little nicknames… ugh. I can tell what you're doing, and I don't like it, Kael'thas."

Kael'thas began to kiss her neck, working her up again, and Tempest inhaled suddenly. "Prince Kael'thas Olvi'athon Sunstrider, I am going to keep an eye on you, I swear. Don't think I ruined my chance with Sunthraze, a great guy despite what you think, for nothing. In fact, you should be concerned that I'm so much closer to you now and asking all these questions. I'll find out whatever it is you're hiding sooner or later."

"I'm not hiding anything at all." He hated to hear his weakness, that Illidan emphasized moments ago, laid bare by the woman herself. "You can look down and see exactly what I want out of this situation. Please…"

And Tempest did see. She felt herself drifting down into his lap after what she wanted, again to face him. She managed to pull away at the last moment though and stood. "No. That's enough for today… for a lifetime, even. I am going back inside, to get dressed, and I'm not coming back. I don't care how good you feel," but the way she startled, it was evident that she was not just talking about the sex. "Maybe I can't have Sunthraze anymore, because of what I've done, but I don't want this sort of thing with you either. I told you that already today, Kael'thas, but you maneuvered me back here somehow, didn't you? Well congratulations. I can see that my giving into you last night worked wonders. You know exactly how to handle a woman, and now I've been handled too, by a Sunstrider. How could I forget that you're just a lecherous Sunstrider deep down? Have a good night, Kael'thas… and good luck."

Kael'thas tossed his head back and blew smoke rings overhead. No, she wouldn't go very far, he'd fixed it that way. Tempest was his. Kael'thas lingered while he heard Tempest do exactly as she said she would, smiled when he heard her hesitate at the door, according to what he'd forced her into… then he heard it slide shut. Kael'thas leaned back inside, chair on two legs to see for himself.

"Sonofabitch… she really left me?"

_You really aren't a catch, Kael'thas. Don't sound so surprised._

_Illidan, I don't need this right now!_

Kael'thas slammed down on all four chairlegs again and cracked his knuckles. Jaina and her rejection came to mind, then Saturna… that was how dating went sometimes. It was tempting to just give up.

_What will you do, Brother? Are you going to cry yourself to sleep? Yes, you are that pathetic._

Kael'thas propped his feet up on the balcony railing and went back to his cigar. "I think I finally get it."

_What is this sudden realization, Kael'thas? What have you learned?_

It felt that Illidan had taken over where Tempest, the love-teacher had left off. It was awkward, to sense that both Demon Lord and the Olvi'athon lover were his friends. "Not that I'm signing on to behave for the rest of my life or anything… but I can only be myself, right? It's what she liked before I started acting stupid and manipulative with her and messed everything up."

_There will be other women, Kael'thas. Have you forgotten about Darthalla already?_

Kael'thas smiled. "No, I haven't. Thank you, Illidan."

_You are always most welcome._

"But I want some time to forget about Tempest first." Another smoke ring above his head. "Think I'll ever get to sleep with her again? Or… smoke with her like tonight? I really liked that."

_If she is truly your friend then she will embrace you, despite your faults. She will love and honor you however mean you can be. She will inspire you to change, and you will grow because of it. Then the two of you will be grateful to each other, for having fought. For having taken the risk of being honest, for the greater good._

"And after ruining her friends like that? Even the person she loved, just to save my own skin? Do you think I even deserve such a chance? Illidan, you can't possibly believe that I am a good person after witnessing all of that. Right?"

_I was going to ask you the very same thing, Kael'thas. So then tell me, what is your answer? I wonder if your response will also be the same as mine._

Kael'thas scowled. "Seducing Saturna and then murdering her is completely different. I don't know why I even asked…"

_Ah, but evenso, I have forgiveness for you and your wickedness. You do not appreciate the love you already have in your life, Kael'thas, and for that reason I am sad for you._

"Been there, done that for you already at the Black Temple. But it's three years later, now at Tempest Keep. So I can say, with all confidence, that I hope you go to hell, Illidan Stormrage, and burn for every single sin you've ever committed against the people who loved and trusted you. Vakka zu taxka."

_Selama ashal'anore. Kael'thas, you fool. You think they mean the same thing but they don't. I further advise you not to be an idiot and prove to me that you really understand that obscure Legion drivel, or I will take your head off once more, and never put it back on. Owning your death is just as satisfying to me as owning your life, if that is what I must do to keep you._

Kael'thas continued smoking as if he hadn't made a lethal mistake just now by revealing what he'd studied about the Legion over the years, and Illidan forgiven him for it, because in truth, Illidan was his friend.


	29. The Magic of Compassion

**Son of Kael'thas **

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Magic of Compassion**

_Kael'thas, have you ever been to Quel'danas Isle?_

He paused, fastening an elaborate high collar over the gruesome one Illidan had carved into his flesh three years ago. "Of course I have... I am a Blood Elf, Illidan, I've seen the Magister's Terrace, and the Sunwell. Before it was destroyed."

_Recently. I meant for you to be honest with me, Kael'thas._

Kael'thas rolled his eyes, and paced before the porn-trait in his bedroom. It was curtained shut. Kael'thas also refused to keep mirrors about three years ago. "You know me well, Illidan, sometimes I do talk you in circles, don't I? How could I not when I have to protect myself... but truly, I'm being honest this time. I've not been to Quel'Danas since I came home from Dalaran nearly eight years ago. Advisor Sorn, who was my belated father's servant at the time, gave me a quick tour of the awful death and destruction that was the burnt-out Sunwell Plateau. I recall there was also a small and pristine island to the east which was preserved from ruin, some houses on it even... but that's really insignificant. There, now you have everything I remember about that sad visit. Why do you ask?"

_Because I saw you there, last night._

The Blood Elf Prince had to sit down. "Illidan... it's too early in the morning for your mind games."

_You were a ruined man, guarded by other ruined men. All slaves to fel magic, addicted and emaciated by their lust and greed. The blind leading the blind. You in a room by yourself, before a false throne. Yelling madness at the adventurers, mere mercenaries that would come for you and end you. And you knew that it was the end, Kael'thas. You laughed at them and dared them even though you knew your beautiful life had come to nothing but waste. You wore my collar but called Kil'jaeden your master._

Kael'thas leaned forward on his elbows. "Where are you getting all this from? Why would I go back there, and for what? My scientists haven't completed their research... how would we even set about restoring the Sunwell?" He would not remind Illidan that Pathaleon's death was a large part of his Cabinet's current struggle with their academic efforts. Nor did Kael'thas wish to remember why the man had died...

_And yet again, you avoid answering the obvious. Why did you call Kil'jaeden your Master, Kael'thas? Why, when I have offered you the comfort of my soul, did you turn to him instead? From you spawned Fel Elves, and Doomwardens, Irespeakers... a whole fleet of red ships intent on the island, an army of Sunfury fighting for what was left... But you weren't retaking Quel'danas, as you'd hoped. You were losing it, to the Shatar. They shattering the Sun..._

"Illidan, stop it! I won't sit here and listen to another one of your ridiculous dreams. I remember well the time you took me aside while at the Black Temple and insisted we were brothers. And that the Golden Dragonflight was preparing for war with the Green Dragonflight... and that all druids were agents of evil with Malfurion as their master... Let me remind you, my Lord, that you are insane. You have a Demon's madness that compounds your insanity. And a lethal personality which further exploits the madness that aggravates the insanity you had while mortal. And then you have a disregard for life and a twisted sense of justice that, together, disease the lethal personality which irritates your clinical madness that makes the mental disposition you were born with even more delicate and vexing! So do not talk to me of dreams, things you are so afraid will happen that you truly believe in, by some twist of fate--"

_I saw it Kael'thas. That is what will happen to you if you don't choose the right path. _Kael'thas could hear Illidan's unsteady breathing through their link. The Demon man truly was unsettled, _I beg you. Please do not go to the Legion._

"How do you know Kil'jaeden is really such a bad guy? Maybe we'll get along famously and chit-chat about the good old days when Demons were the slaves and mortal men were the masters..."

_Kael'thas! _

"I'm not apologizing. Stop being so ridiculous, Illidan. Certain things have happened here in Tempest Keep recently... but there is still no evidence that I've decided to join the Legion. Now, if you are going to insist on poking fun at the plight of my people to get an entertaining rise out of me this morning, then I am going to take a shot at our friendship, or maybe next time I'll go back to you and Tyrande... Really, pick your poison, Illidan--"

This was cut off, as Illidan seized Kael'thas' spiteful words and breath through the collar. Kael'thas snarled and struggled to refute him with dignity. "And you... think I'll forgive you... for Saturna..."

_Kael'thas. You will see that it was only an accident. You will learn that we are better off. You WILL make an effort to mend things in our bond as friends. This you promised at the outset when I gave you Belorim in exchange._ _Now, have you forgiven me yet?_

Illidan released his hold and Kael'thas sat back on the bed, gasping. "No. I still think all of this is your fault Illidan. But… moving on with other beautiful and willing women is a small comfort. That's what I learned after last night." He glanced up at the curtained painting of the lost woman and decided that, no, he didn't need to take one last look this morning. "It's enough to begin setting things right, at last."

_...Do you know who is especially beautiful, Kael'thas?_

Kael'thas was struggling, embarassed, to stifle Illidan suggesting women for him, when one woman's name came and overpowered the rest.

"I want Anveena!" Belorim shouted. He stood in the open doorway to his father's bedroom, rubbing a sleepy eye.

"Oh, son. What are you doing? Daphne's coming to get you for your lessons this morning and you aren't even dressed?"

"I don't like Tempy Keep anymore. I want to go home!"

_Who is Anveena?_

_I suppose Bim slipped up and finally told me the name of his imaginary friend._

_No, I do not believe it is that simple, Kael'thas…_

"I miss her Daddy. And I'm too tired to be a Bloodknight today."

Kael'thas sat on the bed and opened his arms to his son, hoisted him up off the floor and into his lap. Belorim snuggled into his father's red robes and yawned big.

"Yes, because you won't drink the warm milk I tell them to give you."

"It's yucky."

It also had enchanted motes of life in it that would have made the boy feel better, but ever a Sunstrider, Belorim sensed it was medicine and rejected it.

"Well, when Daphne reads to you, you don't relax like I say. If you'd stop squirming and talking over her—"

"But I don't want Daphne, Daddy, I want you. I want to go home"

Kael'thas shook his head. "But you have me. And you're already home. Bim Bim, I don't understand you…"

"No you don't! You're cockblocking me!"

Kael'thas cringed and covered his son's mouth. "Did Bloodknight Pyorin teach you that bad word?"

"I heared him say it and he's right! Stop coc—"

Kael'thas winced while Illidan laughed through their soul link. _Brother, I believe our son is jealous that you are spending more time with women these days than with him. _

Kael'thas intimated back, _But not like that. Ugh, that's not the right… term for it. Clearly that's fallout from the ridiculous love triangle Tempestraven orchestrated. It sounds like Belorim overheard an argument between his babysitters… over Sunthraze? Well, who knows who 'cockblocked' whom…_

_Most likely you. You slept with the queen of the swarming nest of lies…_

_Shh!_

"Belorim, that is a bad word, and I don't want to hear you saying it again."

"But I never get to see you! You make me sleep over at Lady Liadrin's but I don't like that room she gave me. I like MY room, in HERE! With YOU!"

Kael'thas hugged him tight and thought it over. Of course the boy was right. "We will see each other more often then. And then maybe you'll even feel better. I'm not sure if I ever told you this, but Bloodmages are really good at catching nightmares." Belorim began a fit of coughing then and Kael'thas continued to speak over his son's ragged breathing, afraid that his own worry for the boy would show and upset him, "… and so the next time you have a nightmare, you can just come in here and sleep in your father's bed. In fact, I'll clear my schedule and we can do that tonight. I'll protect you."

Belorim sniffled. "Cause you have special magic?"

"Mostly because I am your father. And, I promise."

Daphne was late to take Belorim to his lessons but that was alright. She arrived to find Kael'thas sitting ready on the couch in the main room, while Belorim slept in his father's arms.

"My Prince." And oh, did she look angry, despite her cheerful duties. That Daphne didn't feel she needed to apologize for her tardiness drove that point home for Kael'thas.

The glass doors slid shut and Kael'thas rubbed his son's back, urging Belorim awake.

"Maybe you should just let him sleep…"

"Normally I would, but I have important things to tend to today… and I can't do them with Belorim asleep in my lap like this."

Daphne clucked her tongue and picked Belorim up. She hefted him in her arms so that he could continue sleeping.

"Daphne, if you'll let me explain about the other night—"

"Nothing to explain. Tempest happened to you. She's always doing that to men… I guess that there wasn't really any avoiding it."

Not that he cared, but something else began to nag at Kael'thas then. "But… what she did, lying about Pyorin hurt you. And you're… with him, aren't you? The two of you are—or were—dating?"

Daphne was too upset to worry about the question. "No, because of Tempest. And she was supposed to be my best friend. I don't know what to do or say to her anymore."

But Kael'thas had been gazing at the blonde's shapely hips.

_Whyever not? _Illidan sounded bored. _In for a copper, in for a pound…_

"Daphne…"

"Yes, my Prince?"

With as straight a face as he could manage, "Wouldn't you like to get back at your friend?"

_Later that day…_

Kael'thas asked Sorn what the matter was. The Chief Advisor wordlessly handed him the opened schedule book, tapped a finger at something.

Kael'thas chuckled. "Oh, that. Well, what can I say Sorn? I'm getting much better at this whole dating thing."

"Prince Kael'thas Olvi'athon Sunstrider!" Sorn raised both his white eyebrows and flipped the odd monacle up so that he could make uninhibited eye contact with his victim, "You CANNOT go through sleeping with all of your Bloodknights. Who's next, hmm? The Matriarch herself?"

"Oh Sorn!" Kael'thas turned red. "It's not like that. Daphne's just a pretty and available woman is all, and she _wants_ this. Do you think I tricked her into it? No, I just asked her how she was feeling about Tempest's betrayal—"

"That you pushed Tempest into, in the first place—"

"… and I offered Daphne a shoulder to cry on. And then when she was done crying, I told her how beautiful she was, and that I always admired how well she cared for my son, etcetera etcetera…"

"You! You used your son, our precious little Prince to get a woman!"

Kael'thas shrugged and turned back to something on his desk.

"The very idea!" after sputtering for a flustered moment, "… this can't be happening to me. After all the time and effort I put into avoiding it, you've come out exactly like your father!"

Kael'thas crossed his arms, and said this with deliberate care. "My father was a good man."

"Who was married to a horrible woman because of a similar mess he got himself into. But Celestia played him like a lute, right onto the throne beside him. Do you want that? For your personal entanglements to become political ones, to surround yourself with lascivious, greedy people who will eat your birthright alive? And for what! For… a night of pleasure? Who are you, Kael'thas!"

Kael'thas hated the image Sorn's words conjured in his mind then. It was as Illidan said that morning. He sitting on a false throne, surrounded by wretched, addicted Blood Elves, "I am not your son, Sorn, so stop minding me like some... _You_ are not my father!"

Sorn shook his head. "Kael'thas, you are a better man than this. You are the very last of your line, Kael'thas, you have to be. And besides, the fact that you promised Belorim you would spend the evening with him, I should warn you that this thing with Daphne is a lot more than you're thinking. Rumor has it that she's a—"

"Sorn! I am sick and tired of you judging my decisions. And this is my love life, you are entirely out of line this time, especially. Now leave me."

Sorn felt he had more than a good enough reason to warn Kael'thas. But for once… wouldn't it be nice to just let him fall right on his face, find out on his own?

He bowed, "Yes, of course, my Prince. Your will be done."

_That evening…_

Daphne chattered on nervously about her life while Kael'thas listened over dinner in his apartments. She wasn't bad company really, in fact he found her very cute. He kept interrupting her, to ask embarrassing questions only the Prince of Quel'thalas could get away with on a date, just to see her get flustered.

Finally, he told her, "Daphne, you are absolutely adorable."

She blushed. "Thank you, my Prince."

He folded hands underneath his chin, thinking about how to proceed. Figuring out Tempest was easy. So what was this one's weakness?

"Would you like to see the northern lights? It's possible from my balcony."

She finished her meal and folded the napkin on the table. "Kael'thas, I know that you sent spies to follow me."

He tried to hide how this threw him off. "Well, that's just for my protection—"

"Tempest had followers since she got here. I only had some since yesterday, when I signed up to have a date with you through Sorn… is this how you've been getting the women? Being sneaky and finding out what they want so you can sweep them off their feet? You had Tempest's daily routine down to a science and had her nabbed right off her feet, on the way to see Sunthraze."

"You're… trying to out-think me?"

"What's next, are you going to ask me to play chess?"

He did have a board set up in the next room… Kael'thas made a mental note to make an excuse and get into the bedroom before her and ditch what was going to be a naked chess game.

"Well, I cheat all the time at games… it's better if we don't." he leaned back in his chair, not ready for what came next. All this jumping two and three moves ahead of him… it was turning him on.

Daphne was nervous again. "And I know what else you're thinking, that I only came here for revenge, to get you back because of what you did to Tempest and the rest of us Bloodknights."

Kael'thas honestly had not considered that possibility. "Well…uh... it turned out okay, Tempest and I are sort of friends now. You know, Daphne, it's against your oath to hit me or anything like that—"

Daphne burst into uncomfortable laughter. Kael'thas was alarmed that he couldn't tell if she was really angry about it or not.

"Aahaha… no, this is a normal date, I want... what every other woman who comes to see you wants."

"And that would be…?"

Daphne blushed. "You know… silly."

_She's scaring me._

_By the—Will you please! I'm on a date, Illidan. _

_I can summon myself there in mere moments if anything happens, Kael'thas._

_Go… away._

When he returned to the conversation, Daphne was long gone.

"Oh, strip chess! That sounds like fun…" her voice came from the bedroom.

_A few captured queens later…_

Daphne was different. She was very gentle, careful, but no less intense. The effort of unwrapping her—and that is what it was starting to feel like—was so delicate. Kael'thas was forced to think through the need that surged, and that challenge was something.

The crystal chess set had been moved to the bedside table long ago. He'd completely undressed her during this strip version of the game, losing what was his only when he couldn't get away with cheating. And Daphne could more than keep up with him, that had been difficult to achieve…

"Where'd you learn to polymorph the pieces, make them switch colors?" she whispered against his kiss.

Kael'thas smiled and lay her down, unfastened his pants. "When I realized what the prize would be for capturing your queen… turning her to the dark side…"

He let loose a bit. It was hard to stay in control. Sure he'd behaved himself before with women who weren't welcoming of his Demon thirst for sex, but the Daphne was squirming, resisting him. If he had to wait any longer to have her, it wasn't going to be pretty and Kael'thas knew it.

"Hey, hey… shh… you're a little excited there, aren't you? Been a while for you, Daphne?"

She moved again. Kael'thas winced a little bit.

"Um… yeah, a while."

"You're shivering. Are you cold—"

"You know, Pyorin always let me win. I don't even really know how good he is."

"Huh?" Kael'thas stopped cold.

"Chess… my mind is wandering, I'm sorry."

"Well that's insulting. Look, Daphne… I checked, I'm pretty sure that you and Pyorin aren't involved. In fact after the Sunthraze incident," Kael'thas managed with another practiced straight face, "I made damned sure. Unless there's something you know that I don't—"

"I'm a virgin."

Kael'thas just sat there.

"It's okay though, I'm ready now. I made up my mind about it; I'm tired of waiting. And you're the Prince of Quel'thalas, the last Sunstrider… it's going to be special."

Kael'thas suddenly felt threatened, he wasn't sure why. "Uh… okay?"

"Come on, I can do it now." She readjusted herself, loosened the long blonde hair, as if her appearance at this point mattered, then placed both hands on his shoulders with a purpose as if she were about to take a ride and needed to hold on. What exactly was she expecting? She was so mechanical about it, one couldn't help wondering if she was following some sort of process, instructions from a book, maybe? If so, then this one was a worse geek than he was...

Kael'thas banished the uneasy feeling and started again.

"What's wrong?"

"Well this is a lot of damned pressure!"

"No it isn't, everything's fine…"

"No it isn't…" he sat up. "It doesn't work like that."

"But you're a Sunstrider, you can do it!" she cheered for him.

Kael'thas heated, "That is _so_ making this worse. And don't cheer at me like that… it's not like this is some kind of… performance. Daphne, why did you come in here like this?"

"Like what? Like the way that I was _born_? You can't possibly be building up to blame this on me."

_Illidan, would you mind summoning yourself right about now… Illidan?_

_No, this is far too entertaining._

_Damn you!_

"Alright… Daphne, I can't do this for you. I'm sorry."

"Oh no! Please? I… I was finally ready. I ruined this somehow, didn't I? Arghh! What does Tempest have that I haven't got?"

Kael'thas also said this carefully. "I've been involved with enough women to know that it would be dangerous to answer that question, sorry Daphne."

"But you're not even going to _try_?" her frustration, sexual and emotional, bubbled over into something else, fast. Daphne cried.

_You made her cry… oh you're awful Kael'thas._

_Stop talking to me while I… Illidan, I'm not warning you again!_

Kael'thas admitted that he was scared out of his mind, but Daphne cried harder. He swore that this was not a good idea, tried to explain about the danger of her developing a fixation afterwards the way people sometimes got attached to their firsts... the embarassing fixation he'd developed for Tempest just the other day came to mind, but Kael'thas didn't want to admit that out loud. Not when it'd just been a while, not a first... and he was a grown man and experienced in that department... So he focused on saying instead that he doubted that Daphne would be able to just walk away from it the way Tempest could, or even have enough perspective to accept it as a one night stand, or see that he wasn't some knight and shining armor come down out of the sky…

"Alright, I'll do it. Just stop, please stop crying? I'll get rose petals, candles, chocolate, whatever you want, I promise."

She sniffled, "Really?"

Kael'thas scratched his head, started to feel like he should cry out of annoyance himself. "Well, I am sort of like the last of my line, considering… And it's my choice to be far away in Outland. You Bloodknights have done so much for me over the years… I suppose it's the least I can do." Saturna's struggle to find him all those years ago sort of hit a note with Kael'thas then. "You were really looking forward to this weren't you? I'm sorry Daphne, don't worry, we'll do this. But I need time…"

_To get high enough? I don't fully believe you are coherent right now, to be so benevolent towards what is obviously another annoying woman, a rock in your shoe._

Kael'thas gallantly ignored Illidan. Well, he supposed that ignoring the Demon voice that plagued your consciousness for a lady that needed to be reassured that you were going to have your way with her, for the moment… was gallant, somehow.

"Time?" Daphne leaned up on an elbow. "Okay, you wanna go out on the balcony for a bit and smoke a cigar? Or… play some more chess? Chat for a bit longer? Those things should take a few minutes…"

Kael'thas rubbed the bridge of his nose. When he'd said 'time' he was thinking more like… another few dates maybe? Or at least twenty-four hours to talk himself into ruining this woman's life? Because that was surely how it was going to go, if the way he went about sex scared even Tempest away…

"Okay, time's up. Let's go."

"Daphne, on hindsight maybe your first time should be with someone who—"

_If you want to borrow some more of my Demon magic again Kael'thas, I'd be happy to oblige... Even better, let me in the room to watch, and I can manipulate circumstances expertly._

_Illidan. Just… no. Stop._

_Dance, my puppet, dance…_

Daphne became impatient and pulled him on top. She kissed and pleaded with him so meekly, that at last her innocence appealed to Kael'thas. He saw that she was kind and sweet and could be loving. Easy. When was the last time he was with a real woman who was like that? No, not her… Kael'thas tried not to think of that person right then… but if it helped… Daphne wouldn't know, would she? And it would feel to her like he was being passionate, committed…

_Poor woman. She is with you because she wants revenge on her friend. But Kael'thas, you are thinking of yet another of her friends while you are with her. And that is disgusting, to be attracted to a dead woman…_

"Illidan, shut up!"

Daphne blinked at Kael'thas. "What? Can he…"

"Don't do it, Daphne!"

Kael'thas heard the man's voice and raced to get dressed and out of that bed so fast, "Oh, thank the gods… Yes, come in here and get your girlfriend, I don't want to do this…"

Pyorin was being dragged back by Sunfury guards even as he struggled to get into the royal bedroom. This was dramatic enough to leave an impression on the woman in question. Kael'thas snapped his fingers and made the soldiers go away, which he supposed should have been even more impressive. But, yet again, right show of amazing Sunstrider prowess, wrong woman, wrong time.

"By the Sun, I've got awful luck with women…"

Pyorin knelt by the bed, dramatic and everything, "Daphne, I know I've made a lot of mistakes, but do you really want this? I… I love you!"

"Oh please,"

_Kael'thas, stop complaining and decide whether you want to either win all the time, or if you simply enjoy being a loser._

_Stop taking shots at me, when I can't do the same to you. Illidan, you drive me crazy sometimes!_

_But I have remained loyal to you through it all. None of these others matter, but I am your one true friend. Even when I lied and murdered, I did it for your sake._

"But that's not love, Pyorin!"

_Illidan, friends don't…steal each other's fiancees, and plot to have their heads chopped off!_

"But Daphne, I'm trying… I'm really trying, and no man is perfect. Besides, I thought that I lost you. You rejected me and I thought we had absolutely no future together, but because of what Tempest did, now I know we always…"

_There is no chance of me ever forgiving you, Illidan, for what you did to me. First, you claimed it was an accident, and then you tried to blame Saturna for her own death…_

_Kael'thas, if you'll forgive a man for having a moment of weakness with such a beautiful woman... I did not mean to fall for your Saturna, but I did. We were unfaithful to you, and my passion overwhelmed me… the Demon magic escaped my control. That is really what happened. Perhaps, even in that dire situation at the Black Temple with war upon us, her sacrifice could not have been prevented in any case, but surely you can forgive me for sleeping with her. After all this time, Kael'thas, can we at least put that part at rest?_

"Pyorin, I don't know… I guess, technically you weren't cheating on me, since we were never in a relationship to begin with. But you were so callous about all of it!"

"I swear that I will never do it again! We'll date properly, we can take all the time that you need. I'm happy to wait for you if you'll just give me that chance. Please forgive me?"

_Kael'thas? What is your answer? I have suffered but also learned over the years. At the start, you promised that if I let you have Belorim, we would work on our friendship. You have been listening to me, speaking to me over the last few weeks, but that is not enough. I need your forgiveness. I cannot live with this weight on my soul. Only you can relieve it._

Kael'thas watched Pyorin and Daphne give into their feelings and make up. He knew better than to ever put too much faith into what Illidan said, even if it sounded good. And to use this moment that was more than a bit sentimental--and incredibly strange--to confuse his focus, make him second guess what he knew was right and fair, especially when it came to his lost love? In many ways, Daphne was as gentle as Saturna had been, and also a Bloodknight...

"Hey guys… not on _my_ bed. Here, I'll walk you to the door." Then, when the red glass doors slid shut for a final time, Kael'thas told the happy couple, "Good luck."

_You still have not answered me, Kael'thas._

"Was it really like that? You and Saturna just… got carried away one day, when you first found out about the Void Reaver thing, back at the Black Temple? Both of you were afraid of this new rumor that I was consorting with the Legion and were so upset with me…"

_Exactly. As I have said, we were in a war, Kael'thas. It could have been you or I, not just Saturna who died when the enemy eventually came to the Black Temple. And the affair we had was so brief… any mortal could have been drawn into it. Really, it was out of despair for your dealings with the Legion that brought she and I together… I swear that I never set out to hurt her._

"Alright! That's enough… I've heard everything that I need Illidan." And this was very difficult for Kael'thas to say next, "I've caused a lot of pain around here recently, haven't I? And I thought that it wouldn't matter but it came right to my doorstep didn't it, sat in my very bed. I see that playing with these people's lives was perhaps… just cruel and unnecessary." Kael'thas didn't go quite as far as saying he was sorry, nor was it clear that he felt apologetic, "... but it did feel good to start over, where Saturna was concerned. Tempest was a surprise. I wanted revenge and that didn't do any good, in fact it caused me to gain what little I had with a woman, almost overnight. And now this... This would be the very last leaf left for me to turn over, with you, Illidan. Perhaps instead of... I'll keep what you just said about the affair at the back of my mind, I guess…"

_Words cannot express how pleased I am, that you would consider this, Kael'thas. You will see, things will be as they were once before, at the Black Temple. You will find that you can trust me again, and we can share powerful magic… Then, will you let me hold Belorim, visit with him? It hurts that you do not trust me with Belorim, because I wronged you. We should be friends, Kael'thas, we should be brothers and kin, raise the boy together…_

"Now, I didn't agree to all of that Illidan. I simply said… that I would think about it. And only that because I know you put the collar around my neck for a reason in your twisted vision of things. You wanted to save me from the Legion, so you forced my will…There was even a time, several years ago, when I admired your dedicated cause against their forces, and the army of Fel Orcs you fought to raise to that effect." 

Kael'thas was embarrassed to let those very old but good feelings resurface now, and suspected that it wasn't entirely his fault. Illidan was very good at suggestion, and wanting to escape the pressure of his hate for the Demon man felt good. But freedom from hating Illidan, for what he did to Saturna? Was it even possible to forgive so much? Kael'thas hadn't even known that he still longed for that safe feeling, of believing in Illidan's promises to help him restore Quel'thalas. This hope Illidan had offered to his Blood Elves... The sort of hope that leveled Outland with them working together, not secretly scheming against one another. Back then, Illidan possessed something that, despite his madness and anger, allowed Kael'thas to indulge his many addictions, and then with secretive Saturna, and finally with their son Belorim, who could have easily been another victim in the crossfire between them... What Illidan had used in those times was a rare magic that could always make up for all the things in this life a that a mortal man, despite himself, could not be: compassion.

_If it really was with Saturna, as you say, Illidan. A mere moment of carelessness that started everything? Then perhaps I can forgive..._

"Prince Kael'thas!" Sorn rushed into the room, saw the state it was in and swore. "Of course you wouldn't notice your scrying orb turned on, and I thought maybe there was some emergency, that you'd overdosed…"

"Sorn, I stopped using Freywinn's seeds a while ago. I'm sort of… onto cigars again now. What's so important?"

Grand Magister Rommath was so important. He'd heard about Pathaleon's untimely death, and his childhood friend demanded answers.

Kael'thas had prepared himself for this great lie, though he'd been putting it off. Rommath was the only link to Silvermoon, a very loyal servant, but also the last straw if this was not handled delicately. Kael'thas hated to think that returning to Silvermoon was still an option for him, because the very possibility of returning to such an innocent life was startlingly painful. It seemed too good, impossible, to still be true.

"Pathaleon died a criminal, Rommath. He betrayed his Prince and Country. We attempted to revive him once he was in custody, but the Arcatraz is not equipped for such things. Send a Bloodknight to his family house with a black letter. No flags or medals."

Rommath assured his Prince that it would be so, even if the man clearly felt it was unjust. Kael'thas changed the subject soon after, asked about the state of his estranged kingdom. Rommath wondered after a while why Kael'thas was asking about things he already knew, like the population of Blood Elves, exactly what sorts of powers the Bloodknights wielded—was it truly like that of a Paladin?—and was Saturna's grave still there? What did the plaquard say?

_She is as you have left her. I did my best to restore it after Lady Liadrin stole the Whiteblade. And everything else is secure, your throne waiting for your return, just as it has been for the past six years. I have remained faithful, your Majesty, there is no need to question it._

Kael'thas leaned over on his knees and swept hair up from his face, entwined that in his trembling fingers. Pathaleon's experiment had done little damage. And he had not changed very much by having traveled back through the Core in time, and meeting Saturna too early in her life. That was not as comforting as Kael'thas hoped it would be.

_If there is nothing else, my Prince, I'd like to assure you that that arrangements have been made to rescind Lady Liadrin and her Bloodknights back to Silvermoon, at a moment's notice, as you requested months ago. _

"Good. Hopefully, I may never need to do it."

Rommath hesitated before going, though. He was very concerned about another thing and feared to bring it up. _I have something else to mention as well, My Prince. If you'd advise me as to how to handle an intricate situation involving someone that your people trust, but whom we do not... It is impossible to just do away with him, over this treachery._

"Do you mean Lorth'remar?" Kael'thas was alarmed. "I put him in that position because he is a distant cousin of mine. Grateful for the hand up but not ambitious enough to…" he did not want to consider killing another person who was so close to him.

_It is Halduron._

Kael'thas nearly laughed, "That coward? Well then, in that case…"

_He is involved in some secret project on Sunwell Isle. I hear whispers of things through my spies… Anveena is often spoken of. I gather that it is some kind of power, a thing… perhaps a code name?_

"It sounds like a woman's name." Kael'thas wondered, "… it's familiar, somehow… but I can't place it."

_Halduron has been traveling back and forth from Sunwell Isle for a long time now, bringing supplies of food and what else. But he doesn't really have that many soldiers stationed on the island, Kael'thas. And certainly not the kind who would want brand new silk curtains, and enough blue paint to decorate a house with. I'd assume it was a mistress, but Halduron isn't married. He is an accomplished man with no reason to hide any romantic interests… it's very strange._

Kael'thas kept mulling over that word, Anveena. Anveena… hadn't Belorim said? No, Kael'thas convinced himself that he'd remembered wrong.

"It must be a codename then. Look it up, continue to keep an eye on it. If Halduron's not taking enough supplies to furbish an army against us then it is probably something entirely different. Tell me if you encounter anything substantial."

_Yes, my Prince. But I caution you, I almost didn't find a thing at all, as Halduron most likely intends for anyone who may be watching him. Other than this vague suspicion, and my instincts as a mage as to the magical nature of this threat… I haven't got any evidence against him. You see… I can't orchestrate any accidents, on my end._

Kael'thas glowered through the scrying orb, but decided not to address any insolence. Rommath was entitled, of course, because he had liked Pathaleon, as many people skilled with magic appreciated the Calculator's amazing ability. It truly was a loss.

"I, too, regret that he went so far." Kael'thas half threatened, and turned the thing off.

Sorn crossed his arms at Kael'thas' side. "I don't judge you, my Prince. I know that it had to be done, misleading the man."

"Mmhm, and you know what else, Sorn? I am going to set what's left of your old man monacled-eyeballs on fire FOR NOT WARNING ME ABOUT DAPHNE FIRST!"

"Heh… my Prince, you have to admit that you had it coming…"

"Six years! Six years since you met me in Eversong Woods and we started this horrific journey together, and you still talk to me like that? Sorn, I swear on my father's grave that I am going to…"

Daphne came back with Pyorin, she was crying. Pyorin managed to say for her, "It's Belorim."

_Moments later..._

The four of them ran up the royal corridor. No one else understood. There were no ship alarms going off for the little Prince, and Kael'thas realized his mistake with his son. Always, Belorim had been in danger. Assassins in the boy's heart, in his mind, in his spirit, if none could be found on his body. And what had Kael'thas done, as a father, to protect him? Kael'thas had an entire army of zealots, fearsome Bloodknights, a team of scientists, and a sophisticated magical system of wards tuned to sense the slightest threat against his person or holdings at Tempest Keep. He had not taken the same care to safeguard his only son. Belorim was the real future of Quel'thalas, the last Sunstrider, not himself.

The others waited on the elevator, but Kael'thas summoned the phoenix Skybender right there and flew up to the officer's deck where Liadrin had her quarters and sometimes home away from home for Belorim when his father had to do important or dangerous work.

As he passed overhead, Kael'thas barely heard Pyorin observe, "Wow those phoenixes are loud tonight, when did they start doing that?"

Sorn answered, "Ever since General Blaize was apprehended… funny that they should weep over something like that…"

Kael'thas clutched the front of his robes, over his heart when it pounded in his ears. No, it had not been about Blaize. The phoenixes were his own creation, intimately connected to magic of the Sunstrider line. They were responding to Belorim's illness… because the night of the arrest was the same night Belorim cried that his imaginary friend went away. Kael'thas had feared then that he'd been too cruel and broken the boy's heart. Now that awful possibility was again real.

_Kael'thas, stay focused…_

He obeyed Illidan without reservation, because his son was more important than any old transgressions. Illidan could help him to be strong for Belorim… because Illidan, whether Kael'thas knew he liked the truth or not, was his friend.

_Yes, I will stay calm. I thank you._

Liadrin was in a long white night gown when Kael'thas got to her door and sent the phoenix away. "He's been like this every night this week, but we were under orders not to disturb you…" an accusing glare, that she instantly seemed guilty for and banished, "Normally he comes out of it, but not this time… Oh, the Light Bless him!" Liadrin held the Whiteblade in one hand and ushered Kael'thas inside quickly with the other. Sunthraze and Tempest were in the next room, where Belorim tossed and turned in fits of nightmare.

"We tried to wake him up…" Tempest started to say, and Sunthraze forgot himself in the distressful situation, drew her into a hug.

So Sunthraze finished, "Then we worried that maybe we should not have tried to rouse him… but we were the closest ones Liadrin could call, and came right away."

Fennore had lain his head on the boy's chest, listening to the heartbeat. "I used every healing spell, Kael'thas… and what else you showed me… to help. I'm sorry but it's growing faint—"

Mavia sat at the food of the large bed which was too big for Belorim, with alert, searching eyes. She was crouched like a tame pet, whimpering gently for the boy, but unable to help with her Bloodknight powers that were supposed to be a secret. And she must have realized that nothing she could do would be any better than what her master Fennore the Immortal had already tried. Sorn, Daphne, Pyorin, and Liadrin crowded into the bedroom after Kael'thas, whispering that if nothing could be done, then what… They all looked to Kael'thas.

_Illidan. You will not like what I am about to ask of you, but it is the only way I can save my son's life._

_Anything for our son._

Kael'thas ignored how selfish it was of Illidan to assert his impression of who had a right to Belorim in this moment. _You must leave me alone in our Soul Link, and in the collar. I can help him, my father once did this with me… But it was only to placate me really, and the chance of it truly working in this case is so slim… but if try and use the magic of my line, and my knowledge as a Bloodmage together… I cannot have your tainted Demon magic involved or what little possibility I have of even engaging the spiritual malady directly will be lost. Can you do this for me?_

Illidan, like a good friend, stepped aside. Kael'thas was grateful for the honest conversation they had earlier… if he hadn't shown the capacity to forgive the Demon Lord then, there was little chance Illidan would be so gracious now, with something that may only comfort Belorim in his final moments… Not when Illidan valued that collar around his neck, the power over him in the bond they shared, more than even Kael'thas' life. That it had come to this for his son, because he had been blinded by a need for revenge, focused on covering his dealings with the Legion...

Kael'thas lost sense of the others watching and waiting. He felt himself getting onto the bed and embracing his son as he reached for the old magic, the pure essence of his ancestors that felt as natural as breathing. But it was weak compared to what Illidan offered, and what being a warlock had opened up to him throughout his life. That vile Demon and that kind of magic was rapture, and very difficult to resist using now when so much was at stake. Was that not more powerful and effective?

Kael'thas realized that it was Illidan tempting him… not through the Soul Link or the collar but deep within his consciousness. That is how deeply Kael'thas had let Illidan into his life with his dark promises, into his very heart and soul. He would tempt him always… Kael'thas allowed himself a strange comfort in this, that Illidan's voluntary absence was the greatest show of something like brotherhood. Illidan had made the greatest sacrifice to help him, by giving Kael'thas brief freedom.

Kael'thas embraced his son and felt that bond of magic between them, that familiar Sunstrider signature… then their hearts beat together and he could see what Belorim saw. The boy's world was dark, fringed in the white of consciousness. That was curiously like Illidan's dream magic he'd used at the Black Temple.

Why was Illidan's magic a part of his son's soul?

It was terrifying to consider, but Kael'thas never got the chance. That black layer of magic peeled away as he searched with his will through his son's mind for the nightmare. The startling white that was beyond became even more intense. Now it was blinding. It seared and rebuked him. It judged Kael'thas like a Bloodknight's spell, but this was more intimate… this second layer of Belorim's soul was older than the child, more ancient than even Illidan who'd witnessed the birth of time and magic as a Night Elf, older than any of Kael'thas' own ancestors. It was great and forceful and absolute… it would have overwhelmed Kael'thas if he had not been in the presence of such unheralded arcane purity before. It tempted him and made him shake with withdrawal… so long it had been since he fed on perfection itself. Arcane crystals were nothing compared to this! But that was once upon a time ago, when he himself was a boy and everything still right with the world, for that was the last time he'd seen the font of powerful magic intact, before fleeing for Dalarn. So then, how was such a thing possible? How had Kael'thas missed this blatant truth, never been told…

That his son was made of the Sunwell itself.

Great and dangerous secrets surely lay beyond...


	30. A Nightmare to End All Dreams

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Thirty: A Nightmare to End All Dreams**

"You're the king now, Daddy."

The blind white had burst and finished at the edges of his vision, leaving only the shadows of sunspots that stained his eyes. Kael'thas felt for something to hold onto in this light-stained world. He could not see at first that it was Belorim tugging his thumb.

"Son! Bim Bim, are you alright?" Kael'thas knelt and hugged him. "All this darkness… is this what upsets you?" a frightful twitch at the corner of his frown, "I can burn this away, with a few adjustments I think. Then we won't feel so lost…"

"Daddy no!" Belorim pulled hard, and Kael'thas stopped conjuring. "You're the King now, okay. You can stay here with me, but you have to be quiet or he'll get mad."

Kael'thas did not get to ask who 'he' was. Sorrowful cries rose up in the distance and the air felt thick all around them. A roar…

_Illidan?_

"Daddy, stop. Don't go in there." And suddenly there was a wall. White magic like lightning sparked then flickered along the floating gray surface. It veined and threaded slim into infinity. The crack of power echoed and overcame the stricken voices.

Belorim asked his father to sit wit him. The little boy had backed himself into a corner and hugged his knees. He tried to smile. "Okay it's better now, because you're here—" A desperate scream through the magical wall startled the boy and he cried out too. Startingly similar heartbreak in each tone…

_Illidan._ Kael'thas grew angry. _Are you in my son's mind? Why won't you answer me? I asked you to withdraw and not taint this…but your magic is still a part of him somehow… Have you been here, torturing Belorim all along?_

To Belorim when there was no answer, "How long have you been having these nightmares, Bim? Just after you arrived? Or before Liadrin brought you to Tempest Keep?"

"I always heared it. But I don't see it. This is my side. That one is hers." The child pointed through the wall.

"Hers? Oh, Belorim… this isn't the time for your imaginary friend. Anveena is not important here, I need to find out who's doing this to you so that I can fix it. Don't you want to feel better?"

"It's not me! It's her! And don't do that, you'll make him angry. Sit, Daddy. Please… You don't wanna look at it. We be quiet until the morning and then it goes away."

"But it doesn't ever go away, from what you're telling me. It's part of what you experience all the time, isn't it?" Kael'thas turned to face the wall. Yes, there were two realms, as Belorim insisted. They stood in one nightmare that shared a wall with another, a much larger chamber. And it was familiar… Kael'thas focused and wiped a hand in red glove over the elusive gray wall. Color surfaced. A golden floor, a rose-colored bed. A slender table with one… leg… broken.

Kael'thas forgot to breathe. "Belorim."

"Daddy, noo… it's loud and it's scary. Please don't. I can't look at it, she said not to so I don't. I don't want you to get hurt too…"

"Stay here." Then he clawed angry fingers and swept the strange barrier aside.

Yes, it was Illidan. Illidan in his bed. But they were not in Tempest Keep. The Demon man did not face him, he was intent on whatever victim he'd caught in that three-year-old trap. The rose colored bed with the veil torn. The Golden Shrine of the Black Temple glittered in dull moonlight all around the memory. That is what Kael'thas, the Bloodmage, realized it was.

"Scream for me…"

The response was a cry for Kael'thas and the baby.

Illidan hit the woman beneath him and she was suddenly still. He flared wings overhead with an audible snap, whispered something in her ear that Kael'thas couldn't believe he was hearing. Horses… and empires… brothers… making her lose the baby… making her run… making her die… It was not sex. It had not been a mistake, a desperate coming together between two mournful people, because they loved him so much. Illidan had taken Saturna, against her will, three years ago and lied about it. And Illidan had enjoyed himself, sick monster as he was, he'd reveled in torturing Belorim's mother. Illidan claimed to love Belorim now, but how could he really? All of that was a lie. Kael'thas felt sick as he considered the playful, twisted, near flirtatious paternal behavior Illidan had slipped into of late. Illidan had teased Kael'thas about his loss until they found some element of hope in the tragedy. Illidan spoke with him as would a friend when, in truth, Saturna had not just been murdered. Before Illidan destroyed her three years ago, he'd raped her. Illidan laughed and joked about violating her so cruelly as if it were nothing… And to die like that… how could her spirit ever be at rest?

Kael'thas suddenly wanted his Mageblade in his fist and there it was.

Saturna, trapped under the Demon Lord, cried and begged for a reprieve. Illidan laughed and said there would never be one. Kael'thas approached silently and without remorse, and yanked the Demon man up by one curved horn. Illidan snarled but then recognized him. Kael'thas saw the shock in the violet elven face, then a hint of smile, the preparation for the fast lie…

"There is nothing you can say. Nothing you could even breathe that could possibly stop me now. Forgiveness? Is that what you wanted from me? I nearly believed you, Illidan…" pain full in the Prince's voice, "And you spoke to me about salvation…"

Illidan began to say that salvation was for his brother's soul, if not his own…

Kael'thas yelled, yanked Illidan around by one black horn. Illidan struggled and should have been stronger, but he did not have the advantage of fantasizing about his brother's death every day since that horrible moment when absolutely everything was lost. Kael'thas wasted no time and drove the red sparking metal of his Mageblade into the crisscross of green tattoos over Illidan's wide back. Searing magic and metal sliced through bone and ripped flesh to pierce a throbbing heart. Kael'thas indulged, digging deep and twisting. He raged then smiled with bitter dissatisfaction. If only he'd done this years ago…

Kael'thas kicked Illidan over to collapse on the ground beside the bed at last. Bloodied Demon claws lay open on the ground on either side of Illidan's dying face. His friend had been wrong. Revenge… it felt very close to justice. And even if it truly wasn't, Kael'thas craved it now.

"You're still too late." Saturna told him. Kael'thas rushed over and embraced her, or this image of her, he wasn't sure…

"Saturna, why did you never tell me?"

That was irrelevant now and he knew it. He wept into her shoulder but Saturna was stolid and unmoved. Another crack of white lightning against the gray dream world and Saturna was suddenly healed and dressed in her black armor again, like nothing happened. Kael'thas looked up to see the veil around the bed mended once more, and that Illidan's body had gone. No evidence of violation or murder. But somehow the absence of it was worse… like the painful denial Illidan had forced her to live with before the very end.

"This is only a memory?" Kael'thas could not bring himself to ask her directly, when clearly she wasn't real. Not for something like that to have come and go so fast…

"It's the truth."

"But you aren't… real? Were you ever?"

Saturna was not pleased to see him at all. She wiped a tear from an eye and looked away.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Kael'thas… The dead usually cross over, but I didn't understand that at first. It was the rune Illidan put in my neck… even though you buried my body, I couldn't rest. My spirit could never find the same comfort in the grave and I became restless. Nor is the afterlife a place for the damned. I've glimpsed at it, Kael'thas. I saw it and I hated it because it was so perfect. I know for a fact that the Light is not perfect and I refused to embrace it… and you weren't there. I knew that you could never go there and I didn't want to be someplace where I might never see you again—"

"… in heaven, do you mean? The fabled eternal paradise."

Saturna lay an ethereal hand on his cheek. "It is a real place. The perfect absence of existence. But it isn't beautiful to me because the man I fought for is not perfect. In fact, he's a villain. I'd rather spend my eternal days stalking…" a wince, "following in the footsteps of the real thing, than to live in a world too pristine for him at all. Do you understand now?"

"You chose some kind of limbo, a hell with me in it, or hardly in it, rather than the afterlife?" Kael'thas became even more upset, "And are you saying that I'm destined for punishment, to be burned for all of eternity for all the things that I've done? So then, the Shatar are right?"

She looked him in the eye. "You could go into paradise if you wanted to, if you saw a lack of conflict and passion as such, Kael'thas. But I doubt that you would. In fact, none of us serving you are very good people, in case you forgot."

Next Saturna whispered into his ear about the painting. It was created to honor her memory and her spirit felt welcome there. There son was another avatar of a sort, because he had been flesh of her flesh. Freywinn's seeds had turned out to be a brilliant successful experiment that allowed Kael'thas to see a pure reality: layers upon layers of various existence, not just a mortal one. Everywhere, there were spirits that had chosen to walk the world rather than simply pass on. Not all of them were villains who chose to serve the evil Prince Sunstrider. Some were good people who loved life more than what came next and that was both a blessing and a curse. To lack the desire to embrace perfection.

"Kael'thas, my Sunshine… the pain is all I know. Every day, I can't escape how much it hurt, to leave you like that." She hugged him tighter and twined her fingers in his hair, ignoring the wet of his tears against her cheek. "I love you so much. But when Belorim and I share a bond, mother to son, I couldn't ever help... leaving his mind now and again for a little while, and haunting you all. Your world is far better than this gray retreat Anveena crafted for me when she—"

He released her, paced in an arc about the bed, then picked up the golden table and threw it across the room. Next, Kael'thas went to his old desk in the shadows and heaved it over. He tore books from their shelves, smashed a scrying orb, snatched his cloak off and tore it apart.

"Kael'thas, no… You're not listening to me. Don't give into your anger when I'm still—"

"Stop talking, I don't want to hear it. This delusion, this nightmare that I got caught up in." he turned on her, "I don't know who you are. The woman I loved would never… tell me that I was going to burn in a hell of my own creation. Why would you say that to me, Saturna? So now, not only am I too late to save you, I can never save myself? I'll have to cheat death somehow. Impossible. Nor will I live on that madman's leash for all time!"

"But it is how you live your life that matters, Kael'thas, weren't you listening? It's not about some petty reward at the end, but how you see yourself and others. That will affect how you perceive what comes after, whether you will be free to enjoy the existence you've chosen or not. Listen to me, let me help you…"

Kael'thas yelled through his hollow soul link, through the gray room, raged at everything he knew and felt to be real, now so elusive. Nothing made sense anymore except for that one feeling, that he'd been wronged.

He scratched at his wound-collar and shouted that he was sick of being a slave.

"To Illidan, Kael'thas? To my memory? Or perhaps… to your own bitterness? You must accept that you cannot escape them all. Not without help. And who better to manipulate justice than capable Bloodknights? If not me, then turn to them at last, Kael'thas!"

_BETRAYER!!_

Illidan, victim of his own deft manipulation of Kael'thas and out of conceit for his success at reclaiming the mortal man's heart, did not hear it. The temporarily empty soul link echoed.

…

The dream done, Kael'thas emerged from the bedroom holding Belorim in his arms. The boy was awake and sucking his thumb. His father hugged the boy to his chest. Every Bloodknight in the room sensed it, that their monarch had seen something important. Their Prince needed them.

But did Kael'thas trust that they could help?

"I am taking my son… and I am going home."

Liadrin kept them from celebrating just yet. "Kael'thas, you were lost in Belorim's mind for a very long time. What did you see, exactly? You are angry about something, please, this time let us help you."

"Why would I trust any of you!" he exploded at them all. "Every single task… each of you failed me." Well, Tempest was an exception but that was horribly inappropriate for her to bring up at that moment and she snapped her mouth shut when the others shot her dirty looks. Fennore wasn't going to reveal himself either. Mavia took a timid step behind her master.

Kael'thas kept his eyes fixed on Mavia the entire time he went with Belorim from the room. Guards had been waiting and they escorted the royal family back to their own quarters.

Sunthraze exhaled. "So then… once more, he said 'I'm going home,' but didn't mean it."

It wasn't funny, and they all felt at a loss as failure settled on them. Liadrin said an old prayer to the Light, began speaking about second chances, hoped that Kael'thas would let go his anger and allow them to assist him in time. That the cause of the Nexus was not lost…

_Vakka zu taxka, Mavia!_

A chill went up the succubus' spine. She was now the only Bloodknight in the room who knew what path Kael'thas chose. "Fennore. Against my will… I must go…"

_Moments later…_

Kael'thas sat at the center the red demonic rune with Belorim drowsing asleep in his lap. Somehow, the little Prince managed to be adorable even under such fiendish circumstances. The fel-orange succubus knelt before the image in the scrying orb on all fours.

"…I want all the Bloodknights gone from here, as quickly as possible. Can you set your plan in motion fast enough, Rommath?"

_Of course, your Majesty. And may I ask… has something gone wrong? I've never seen you so agitated—_

"I want them gone before I'm tempted to kill them all myself!"

_Yes, my Prince._

Then Kael'thas extinguished the orb and turned to Mavia. "Call on him."

"Coven Master, _please_…"

"Do you think I'll hesitate because I'm holding my son? I want him to see what happens to disgusting Demons, gone mad with their self-righteousness. And Demons do not have consciences, they do not have hearts, they do not have dignity, or understand… loss!" Kael'thas' voice broke and he gave into shushing Belorim who stirred in his sleep. "I want justice. I want peace… even if it must be the silence of the grave. I would risk it for him, and the Knights of the Blood Nexus have proven unworthy, countless times. Obey me, Mavia."

The succubus crawled on her belly to the scrying orb, then wrapped both arms around it. She shook her head and graced black claws along the warming globe. Then her toothed snarl formed words only someone under that kind of dark influence could give. A red Eredar appeared through a black whorl of vile magic that seared and burned the inside of the glass. It threatened to melt the very device meant to bear such a burden.

_Prince Kael'thas Olvi'athon Sunstrider. Finally, you call on me. Is it finally a date, then?_

Kael'thas furrowed his brow at the strange greeting but remained focused on what he wanted. Mavia didn't like it either and flashed Kael'thas an 'I told you so,' look.

"Great Kil'Jaeden. I am yours to command. Enable me to kill my current master and you can have all my holdings, my soul, everything. I want justice for what The Betrayer did to the woman I loved and to my country, for all his mad lies."

Kil'jaeden seemed to frown. _That it? Is that what finally convinced you to join our ranks, after all this time? After everything we've been through together, Kael'thas, some woman comes along and--_

"Forgive me, my Lord, but time is of the essence. Tell me where I must go. Illidan cannot find out either… If I vow my loyalty to you now, will you give me your protection?"

Mavia cocked her head to the side and gave the other Demon a good, long look. "You… you are not—"

Kil'jaeden shouted some hasty directions to Kael'thas, swore something in Legion Demonic at Mavia, and then disappeared.

"What was his answer? I didn't understand…"

"He wishes for you to meet him. But Kael'thas, it is surely a trap. Kil'jaeden wants you dead, I know him. He would never… want to 'talk it over' or call it… 'a date.' And I warn you, he also sounded very strange for other reasons…" Mavia cut off her own sentence unexpectedly. She bristled and flared wings at a tinge of pain that made her crouching forearms shudder. Fennore was summoning her, Kael'thas could tell. He snapped at the succubus and had her stand in a dazzling crimson rune at the edge of their circle.

The rune somehow reversed the summoning spell. Kael'thas said, "Good. I'd been experimenting with that, and I'm glad to see that it worked in exactly this situation. I can't always go blinking around the ship to haul his sorry ass up here when I want something done in secret. Especially this."

Fennore appeared on the spot, and was confused by his warlock's summoning spell being usurped… until he realized what was going on. "Mavia, you've been meeting with Kael'thas in secret, without me?"

Kael'thas did not give her an opportunity to defend herself. "Yes. How does that make you feel, Fennore? Does that anger you?"

A hesitant, "Well of course. Coven Master."

"It's terrible when your Demon pet is against you isn't it?"

Mavia spoke up, "Master Kael'thas! But I have not betrayed my love…"

"Mavia, don't be naïve. You have lied to Fennore, you have fooled him for my sake. You have disrupted the stability of the Coven of Two because you put your selfish needs before ours. You have caused the Coven's goals to be disunited."

Fennore half-spoke to Kael'thas, as he was unable to take his eyes off of beloved Mavia. "… Has she really?"

Mavia challenged, "Why are you trying to divide us, Coven Master?"

Kael'thas forced a charming smile which ended up looking hungry and dangerous. "I do not intend to divide you and Fennore. You did what was necessary, didn't you Maneater? You met impossibility with ruthlessness and aided your Prince in his time of need." Kael'thas maneuvered between each of them deftly. He kept his intentions vague while piquing their consciences. "You understand, don't you, Fennore? Will you join with us on the next important journey of the Coven of Two, so that she will not have to feel guilty any longer? Honor the woman you love by giving her a chance… Let's all be honest with each other and on the same foot, the right foot, at last."

Neither of them understood until Kael'thas announced that the three of them were going to join the Burning Legion. But he was not honest or direct about it. It seemed that, at some point, Kael'thas had started to take Kil'jaeden's surprise visits via scrying orb very seriously. Kael'thas had somehow got the idea that he was really the one Kil'jaeden wanted, not Quel'thalas itself, when Kael'thas was the one who was a brilliant Bloodmage with obvious skill for manipulating Demons, even Lord Illidan himself. And so then what did the Sunfury Army matter? He couldn't trust them anyway, they were expendable. Let them sit in the Keep and complain. And then, then the Sunfury became unruly after Blaize's arrest for stalking him and stealing his underwear of all things—and Kael'thas was very uncomfortable to recall that—he maneuvered even the dissatisfaction of the soldiers to his own benefit. If they did not want to be with their Prince and were going to mutiny anyway, then better for them to do it outside of the precious Keep, all its technology, and the invaluable scientists still loyal to him. And at that, Kael'thas wouldn't dare let what was left of his forces go to the Shatar. So then let them rail against the Goblins and their ridiculous war-gadgets on the surface in lieu of the Legion camps. And when those regrouped…

"You WANT the Legion to gain the advantage in Netherestorm and then ambush the Sunfury while they're already engaged in a different battle? You'd slaughter you own men?!" Fennore flared.

Kael'thas was in the thick of it and shushed him. Now Kael'thas was onto Kil'jaeden's other suggestion, that he get rid of the Bloodknights who kept trying to pry him away to Silvermoon. But Kael'thas was not fool enough to turn to Legion forces with no protection at all. And so he decided long ago that it was Fennore he wanted to come with him to the Burning Legion if anyone at all. Mavia was a surprising second recruit, the Coven of Two a convenient cover for convincing them both to his side in different ways…

Mavia growled. "And you wanted to bring Tempest too. I can see the lust still in your eye."

Of course a succubus would. Kael'thas looked embarrassed though he was mostly frustrated and wanting to finish his story at this point. "Well, I had a little crush on her, okay? It would have been nice… but that's beside the point! Now you two not only know everything, but you are bound to me. I had other plans as well, I was willing to wait as long as possible to ensure that the transition went smoothly, and I'll admit, I was playing both sides for a while, to make sure of which was best for Belorim and myself. However, this evening I saw something that made me sure that I could never continue working with Illidan. I'd throw myself into the maw of a dragon first before I ever saluted him again, or obeyed him… I can't stand it, and we four are getting out in a matter of hours!"

"Kael'thas, this is horrific! And what is worse… I saw and understood all of it, but I didn't want to believe my own Prince was capable of it…"

"The Legion will make us powerful beyond anything your untrained mind could possibly imagine, Fennore. Certain sacrifices will be made, all worth it! That is why I went so far, even daring to listen to Kil'jaeden over the last three years… and then taking precautions… those turned to research and then the formulation of a solid plan, a strategy, and today this. Today, we have a way out, Fennore. We are so close to freedom, thanks to what Kil'jaeden has shown me. Because feeling like this, so futile, is worse than being Illidan's slave. And after what he did to Saturna," Kael'thas feared to mention exactly what occurred now, and risk showing that weakness. "This is worse than death."

"No there are worse things!" Fennore stamped his foot and stepped in front of Mavia. "I am absolutely exhausted with you dwelling on the past, and talking about everything as if it was some great puzzle to figure out, playing games with people's minds and hearts…This is not a game, Kael'thas! We don't get to just pick sides! This is life… this has always been about life. Yes, you chose wrong when you left Saturna alone with Illidan three years ago, but the bad decision goes deeper than that, my Prince. When you chose to side with Illidan, when you chose to turn against the Shatar before even then… yes, I said it! Saturna should have never been put in that situation in the first place. Would you like to mourn over that too, over every little thing you did wrong that brought you to his horrible end, surrounded by enemies you made for yourself at Tempest Keep? Now is not the time to panic and seize more power Kael'thas, more power from dangerous people you can't trust and so will end up betraying in the long run, more power with more strings attached. It did not help you then my Prince, and it is not going to help us now!"

Mavia hissed. "Kael'thas, I myself told you many times that this was futile. Revenge is not the way. And I know, I have walked that path. Then your spawn, the little Prince needs you to survive…"

Kael'thas picked up Belorim, stood, and pointed angrily. "She works for the Legion, Fennore! That is how she knows."

It was brash, childish, and cruel to resort to such low manipulations now and Kael'thas knew it. He looked as desperate as he sounded, but that didn't matter.

Fennore turned to Mavia, hurt. "Is this true? You never left the Legion… you lied to me. All this time, I thought you were just Illidan's rogue spy. You let me believe that I'd freed you. You let me love you? And confided in you? But… you've been speaking with Kil'jaeden this entire time. Mavia… how dare you—"

She made fists at her sides. "Before you judge me, know that the very reason why you might reject me now is that same impulse that drove you to pursue me in the first place, at the Black Temple. Yes, I am a still a servant of Kil'jaeden, but that also means I have his mark carved into my flesh. Only officers of the Legion are skilled enough with Demon magic to see it, but you somehow sensed it as well, with your exceptional skill. You thought I was powerful and beautiful despite my failure. Fennore, Master, my Immortal… you did not reject me then. I am the same woman now."

Fennore ran fingers back through his pale hair.

"Choose!" Kael'thas did not want to give either Bloodknight time to think. "I am your Prince, and I am your Master. I found magic in Outland that Illidan said would save our people but he is treacherous. The Betrayer used and lied to all of us while he enjoyed playing his mind games with me. What chance does Quel'thalas even have now that so much time and effort and hope has been wasted? There is none! That is the sad truth, and I did not want to face it before. But dammit, I will be free! I will have Illidan's head for doing this to me and Saturna, to all of us Blood Elves!"

Fennore looked bereft. "I've said this so many times… Revenge is not justice, my Prince."

Mavia growled suddenly, and they all went on guard. Someone was in the room with them. Kael'thas went pale. He realized the one flaw in his magical ward for Anasterian's skull. It was nearly impossible, with so much magical interference, to detect someone once they'd infiltrated the room. Kael'thas raised a hand to cast something but Belorim was already there, vulnerable and sleeping.

Mavia's Demon instinct was not enough to give them the edge, however. Especially not with this enemy. N'shatai stepped out of black depths of the room and her elven shadowmeld spell, and then, lightning fast, and raised one silvery Demon Hunter's blade to Fennore's neck.

N'shatai looked at all of them, outraged. "To the Betrayer, who first taught me to sniff out Demon magic and Vaarlock lies, revenge and justice are the very same. And now zat I have found your rank hovel, rife with foul power zat penetrates every level of zis ship while a certain Blood Elf Prince was distracted vith women and secrets… You are going to learn zat lesson of ze Illidari first hand." A snarl, "And you, Fennore the Immortal. The Lord of Outland requested zat I slaughter you like a pig if it was revealed zat, as he long suspected, you had cuckholded him with Mavia."

Mavia instantly went on the offensive. She raised her whip…

Kael'thas and Fennore both shouted for the succubus to stop. N'shatai was a Demon Hunter, like Illidan. She was far too powerful. The woman had been strong enough to resist Kael'thas' strong manipulation, even his magical ward on the room. She'd found the place in a matter of weeks when the Shatar and countless other of Kael'thas' enemies had certainly been searching since the fall of the Sunwell. And that sort of loss was devastating enough to draw the most powerful sorts of people from both sides of the war. There was even a rumor that blue dragons were searching as far away as Quel'Danas…

Kael'thas did his best with what little time they had. "Mavia, think. What will happen if you attack N'shatai? It will only prove Illidan right and he can be here to end us all with the speed of thought if the magical ward in this place fails… N'shatai can certainly figure it, if she's come this far. We can't afford to push our honored guest any further than we already have." Then to the seething Night Elf woman, "Please N'shatai. Punkin… surely we can all come to some kind of accord?"

Fennore flinched in N'shatai's strong arms, and she sliced gently at his skin already, to draw blood and taunt her long rival into the fight of their lives.

"Is zis your true master? Zis pathetic false Prince you've given your life to… when you could have had Lord Illidan, or even Kil'jaeden. Why flicker along the edge," and she made Fennore catch a terrified breath, "when you could have easily saved or damned yourself. I see now zat you preferred to fuck everyone at once, you disgusting Demon whore. You aren't even worthy to lay at the feet of all the men you—"

A savage roar, a slash of a whip. Golden light and damnation took flight at once and then Mavia dove to bring it all down upon N'shatai's head. The huntress opened arms sparking with fel-green tattoos to receive her, laughing. Fennore struggled on the floor to heal his own throat that'd been cut.

Near breathless, Kael'thas held Belorim and woefully observed, "There is no turning back now."

He was less stunned by the fast repercussions of his decision to join the Legion than by Mavia's fearsome loyalty. He'd not seen such dedication in any of his remaining Bloodknights. The Demon Bloodknight made him falter, it made him wonder, at last, if he'd chosen wrong. Mavia's faith was so quick and passionate… Like murder.


	31. Ten Alarms

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Thirty-One: Ten Alarms  
**

General Blaize threw down his sword when he saw the Legion forces coming at them.

Lieutenant Dacian jogged over, skirting a Goblin land mine and pushed the elaborate greatsword back into Blaize's hand. "General? What is your command… certainly all is not lost." Though the tinny warcries of little green men all around them and the rapport of explosions that confused and frustrated the Sunfury Army made it seem a lot different. A pathetic and wasteful end, that is what it seemed Kael'thas had reduced his own army to.

General Blaize looked up into the violet sky, at the silent, hovering Tempest Keep. "No alarms for us? No response when that ship is an excellent sentinel. The reinforcements should have seen the Legion army approach from miles away…"

Falx shouted, "General, we've got no time for your rivalry with the Prince—"

"That bastard set us all up!" Blaize shouted orders for footsoldiers to form a front at the back of their camp, the southern edge that was the only side not being harried by the Goblins near Area 52. "And Kael'thas knew where they were going to come from… Look! Nothing but rock ridge and sky on that side. Where are they coming from, out of the ground?! From underneath the Keep itself? The Burning Legion has been borrowing under the ship this entire time, like termites. And he knew! Kael'thas knew!"

There was nothing left for Blaize's lieutenants to say. Dacian and Falx were the two brightest minds in the Prince's army. This had all the earmarks of utter defeat.

Blaize told them, "If Kael'thas is not our salvation, then the instruments and discoveries inside of that ship are. We are going to defend Tempest Keep to the last man and buy them time at least… all hands in this situation! Every soldier bear arms! Heavens help them all now… Maybe a few brave souls will see the truth at last and evacuate."

Blaize recalled the effort to take the Keep years ago, how in the panic of impending defeat, the Exodar had separated from the Botanica, the Mechanar, the Arcatraz and the Keep proper to escape. How amused his Sunfury were back then, that the enemy had simply given up and 'turned tail.' Kael'thas was sure the Draenei were all going to die on the fleeing Exodar. He and Blaize laughed together at the astoundingly successful siege on the Naaru ship. But now, the Blood Elves would face the same fate, from a bigger fish.

Blaize kept emotion from his voice. "By the Sun! If you all can manage not to get blown to kingdom-come by these pesky Goblins long enough… Send the Netherdrakes at those Fel Reavers. I want the cavalry to ride right over the heads of that Demonic infantry… Hellcallers, Hatescreamers, Mo'arg Engineers all! Into the teeth of it…" and then he lifted his voice over the stale loyal Sunfury warcries for Kael'thas, "FOR QUEL'THALAS!"

_Later, inside Tempest Keep…_

Ten alarms.

Lady Liadrin tried not to think of what the piercing sirens meant for Blaize, out on the battlefield. The few Sunfury guard left on the ship raced to the main entrance of the Keep. Word was that the Burning Legion had somehow made its way past the Goblins at Area 52 who would have surely challenged them, and then even got beyond the Prince's army. Now they were on Fel Reavers and disgusting sputtering demonic flying machines, soaring with scaley brown wings and screeching like harpies on the very doorstep of Tempest Keep. Inside, where she had assembled her Bloodknights, hot white phoenixes whined woefully along with the magical alarms. Violet lei lines in the slick glass walls sparked as power sources were overloaded by the enemy from the outside, or abused so that the ship systems would fail. Between the rumors shouted by panicked soldiers and from what Liadrin could tell, this was definitely a calculated strike by the Burning Legion at last. A horrible shock.

The Bloodknight Matriarch let the Whiteblade sword rest across her back in its scabbard and raised both gauntleted hands for her men to remain calm, unlike everyone else.

"Clearly, it is at an end." She looked each of her Nexites in the eyes and said an exhausted prayer to the Light when she realized Fennore was missing. "That this is happening with little warning at all, not even a scout from Blaize, not even to me…" she couldn't save herself from taking it personally. "It means that we are fighting a losing battle. At this point, the Sunfury Army must be completely overrun."

Pyorin began whispering to Daphne who looked especially upset, but Liadrin let that go. Tempest and Sunthraze were oddly silent, it was painful to see—what Liadrin now realized was—such passion for life wither now at the eleventh hour. Ten other Bloodknights in black plate were a mixture of hard or disheartened faces.

"My Bloodknights… no matter what happens today, never forget that our lives, are for our Prince. Maybe the others here will fall prey to their fears but we must not. Now, we are going to find Kael'thas and Belorim, and protect them even until—"

"How did the Legion sneak up on us in the first place, Liadrin?" Sunthraze was suddenly spirited and it made the others flinch. "Why didn't any of Kael'thas' scouts see the Legion coming and warn us first? They should have been able to do it days in advance, with an army of their size! And before even that, why wasn't Blaize allowed to finish off the Legion camps in the first place?"

Liadrin crossed her arms, then shook her head sorrowfully. "Child, please let this go when Tempest made her own decision about you long ago…"

"No! Listen to me. Why is it that, with months and months to prevent it, Kael'thas never lifted a finger? He saw this coming, he wanted it to happen."

Tempest sounded more surprised than angry at Sunthraze, "What in the hell are you talking about now?"

He replied, "We aren't under siege. Kael'thas would never allow that to happen. Would Kael'thas endanger his holdings as well as his life, the life of his son? The Burning Legion must have been welcomed here, and in case you were wondering, that's where Fennore is right now. With his master, in their warlock coven. Fennore switched sides on us long ago, Liadrin." Sunthraze spoke quickly now, as he realized he must not be making much sense, "Kael'thas obviously tempted Fennore with Mavia. That's why they've been together, Fennore enslaved her. Demon-lover told me everything, that Kael'thas wanted help from the Legion all along."

Tempest glared, "And why are you telling us this only now, you midget—"

"I didn't want Kael'thas the Olvi'athon to hurt you anymore than he already had."

To this, Tempest blushed and shied away from Sunthraze's intense gaze.

"Yeah, I knew you were too cold-hearted to go as far as thanking me."

The corridor shook then and everyone grabbed hold of the glass wall at their backs. An ear-splitting creaking noise overwhelmed all desperate conversation and orders to battle. The Keep itself jolted soon after and the entire place leaned to its side.

Sunthraze struggled with the others to stand decently at attention. He ducked in anticipation of falling plaster. "Defending Kael'thas now is foolhardy, it will destroy everything the Sin'dorei have ever worked for! Thousands of years… gone up in smoke! I refuse to defend him!"

"You know the rules, Nexite!" Liadrin was more than upset and forgot herself, when the other Bloodknights were watching. "Consensus or Death. If you dare to cross the line now…"

"We have always been in consensus. Admit it, at last, Liadrin. The Shatar, and everyone else has always been right. Kael'thas is the one who deserves death."

Daphne held onto Pyorin. She was crying. "First, Fennore, then Tempest, and suddenly Rommath loses control of the city so that most of us have to run back home to Silvermoon and fix it… Kael'thas has done all of these things to weaken our resolve for what's always been just. Divide and conquer the Bloodknights. We should have known…"

The Bloodknight Matriarch forced herself up from the wall and took in the chaos around them. They all watched her ache to do it, drawing the Whiteblade.

"When we bring Belorim back, you all must say… that his father died as a hero."

Liadrin then gave orders for the trained Demon slayers to find Mavia. For, where the succubus was, her master the lusty warlock could not be too far away. And Kael'thas, the Coven Master, would be close by. The devious Prince would not abandon who Liadrin now saw was the most powerful member of the Blood Nexus, a warlock-Bloodknight and talented healer. Fennore the Immortal.

Daphne calmed herself and warned them all, "It's like he's captured our Queen, everyone. Do not underestimate Fennore this time around."

Pyorin whispered, "Daphne, before we do this I'm so sorry that we never… That is, I love you very much and I wish that maybe you weren't going to die a—"

"Oh, fuck you, Pyorin." Tempest snapped and rolled her eyes. "Can't you see that it's too late for romance or foreplay, or whatever the hell it is you're doing? Daphne's better than you, that's the real reason why you're missing out, so get over it and get focused... Isn't it horrible enough, what we're all about to do to Kael'thas?" then she flared, "And you're really missing the point if all you can see is that you're not having sex with a wonderful woman who obviously loves you already… meathead."

Liadrin jogged ahead and remarked, "Well finally, you show some real potential, Tempest the Raven. Bloodknights, assemble!"

The compliment caused Tempest to blink. Sunthraze smiled at her soon after and she nearly walked into a leaning wall.

_And speaking of walls…_

N'shatai released Fennore and he slammed against a black wall when she saw Mavia coming. The Demon Huntress brought the silver scythe around fast to catch the succubus' throat. But Mavia had anticipated that. She flew up and out of the way to land imbetween her warlock master and the demon huntress.

Kael'thas held his son and backed closer to the nexus of vibrant red runes around his father's skull in the background.

"At last…" N'shatai sounded like her quarry in that moment, lusting after Mavia's demise now after everything.

Mavia raged a feral warcry, slashed with a whip that N'shatai easily sliced in two with a flip of her silver blade. Its twin she drove at Mavia's middle. The sound of ripping flesh and the wet failure of sliced organs was sickening… but Mavia did not collapse and die. Fennore released a golden spell, where he recovered against the dark wall. The wound on his neck already healing with Light magic.

Kael'thas warned, "You fool! Never interfere with a Demon Slayer, especially when she can read your girlfriend like a book—"

N'shatai kicked Mavia away, grinned knowingly, and stabbed Fennore next. He slipped along the wall and collapsed on the ground. The Demon Huntress then rushed at recovering Mavia, forcing her into the far, shadowed reaches of the room. Kael'thas watched, clutching his helpless son while something among the ruined walls there crashed and fell. Then the entire place shook and he was brought to his knees. The ship itself began to tremble. Next came the scraping of claws against stone, a woman's scream… finally, silence.

Fennore had heard it too. He groaned for Mavia. Kael'thas knelt nearby and prevented the dying Bloodknight from getting up again so fast. "We've been like this before, haven't we? Now, were you smart enough to conjure a soulstone beforehand?"

The older man nodded. The violet stone was already in his shaking grasp. Kael'thas sneered suddenly and slammed a hand down over Fennore's fist. "Are you really about to do what I think, I know that look."

"She can't be dead, Kael'thas… Mavia is stronger than you think—"

"They've fallen… for stories, maybe. I didn't just remind you to use that damned thing only to go off again and get yourself killed! You saw what N'shatai did before. She knows how Demons think and you acted just as brashly as Mavia a little while ago. Most likely that Demon Hunter is waiting far down at the bottom of that ledge, fist scythes pointed… she has the magic to cut through Divine Shields, Fennore! Just like Illidan and all the others…"

"You're lying to me… that is how Saturna lived through it at first, when Illidan attacked but she somehow got away from the Black Temple and ran to Shatthrath with you…" he wrenched his hands away and used the soulstone on himself to recover. Are you really this desperate for my help! Lives are at stake."

Kael'thas was more anxious now, said next, "This deck of the ship is secluded not just because of the magic around my father's skull but because it is among so many other obliterated parts of the ship. No one would ever crawl through all of the wreckage the Naaru left here years ago to find this one stable place. But it isn't sealed on all sides, Fennore." Kael'thas paused and squeezed the other man's shoulder. "Even if… maybe Mavia did use her shield… There is a great gash in the floor… it's much too far! Most likely, both are dead."

"Then I have to find her and heal her."

"Come with me." Kael'thas grabbed desperately for the other warlock now. His voice became soft, and insistent. Belorim was awake in his father's arms, looking all around at the strange room and the noise of Tempest Keep self-destructing beyond. His father, however, didn't seem surprised by any of it. Perhaps the boy feared he was having another nightmare.

"… but to where, Coven Master?" Fennore worried.

"You know where. I've sensed it already, there's a good chance that N'shatai tampered with the runes in this room before I even came here today. Illidan will have heard by now and we aren't safe with him…"

"Kael'thas that makes no sense! And now I've caught you in a second lie. To me of all people… aren't we in this together, don't we trust each other, teacher to student? If Illidan had heard everything, then he would have usurped your powers through the collar and summoned himself by now, taken revenge on you and all the rest of us. And what is even happening to this ship? Did you know this would occur? Was this part of your plan all along? You are not someone to act on a chance. This whole time you've been plotting, calculating the demise of not just your soldiers, but this entire ship… For what!"

"It's not being destroyed, you idiot. The Legion is coming in, I've opened the door for them but we cant' stay here, because when did the Burning Legion ever take control of something with a polite 'Hi, hello, how are you Kael'thas Sunstrider, would you kindly mind stepping aside from the Sunwell so we can go for a dip, here, have a cool drink while you wait, thank you very much'… " Kael'thas shook his head when Fennore didn't laugh at his untimely joke and started shouting. It made Belorim cry. "Fine then, I'm lying to you. But you already know that I've always lied to you. This is our lives we're talking about now, the life of me and my son. What about your Bloodknight oath? What about your honor… can't you trust me that this is the right decision and come with us? Illidan is going to find out eventually, if not right now, and I don't want to see what he does to all of us whenever that happens. Listen to me. Where we're going, everything is going to be fine. I have performed every single task Kil'jaeden has asked of me, with my army, and then disempowering you Bloodknights so that you couldn't catch on or force me back to Silvermoon, letting the Legion camps alone so that Kil'jaeden could get a foothold beneath the Keep… Everything, Fennore! He is has promised to reward me if I did, and that is real, tangible victory over Illidan. The Legion engineers helping me to create the Void Reaver was just the beginning. It opened my eyes, and I saw the real power of the Legion. And what did you or any of the Bloodknights offer me while I wrestled with my conscience? Not a damn thing but incompetence! And Rommath only sent me headaches from Silvermoon, over land, and feckless politics… a rumor that Halduron is hiding a mistress on Sunwell Isle? Like I care! Do you finally see that this is best? Now come quickly, because at this rate we surely haven't much time. Everyone that I want along has got to get out now. Kil'jaeden and I told me exactly where to go."

Fennore sat up and looked to his Prince, truly disgusted. "When were you ever not a servant to Kil'Jaeden, to have fallen this far? You and your black soul… did you ever care about any of us, even for a moment?"

Kael'thas ran nervous fingers back through long, mussed hair. "Of course I did, I tried… I'm doing this because I care. You don't know how much."

"When you embrace evil like a lover, what excuse can there be left!"

"Fennore…" Kael'thas struggled, and lowered his voice so that Belorim couldn't hear. "Illidan raped her." a breath, "He treated Saturna like… it was inhuman how he set about torturing her, the whole point was to make her suffer three years ago. It was inhuman, and then Illidan laughed with me afterwards, he's been speaking to me all this time like a brother, manipulated me into forgiving him. It's disgusting, what kind of person does that? Commits such a violent act one day and then jokes with me about it, laughs at murder and unspeakable evil in the next! And I kept thinking that I saw her everywhere… Now that I know the truth, I wouldn't be surprised if her spirit wasn't at rest!"

"Daddy, she—"

"Belorim…" Kael'thas put a finger to his son's lips and the boy frowned.

Fennore stood. "That is horrible. I wouldn't…. I'm not even sure how you managed as long as you did, Kael'thas, selfishly manipulating and pulling strings until the bitter end. What is wrong with you! So you're going to use this tragedy to justify your selfish desires that you had all along, even while Saturna was alive, given that what you confessed to me just now is even true! I swear to the Light that if you are twisting her memory--"

Fennore was so angry he cut himself off. He focused on the one thing he said made any sense, that Mavia needed to be found. This, with what could only be a desperate man's determination. Kael'thas rushed up behind him before Fennore completely slipped into the shadows. Both of them stood on the precipice of the gash Kael'thas described. Countless stories down there was some faint light, where the ground inevitably was.

Kael'thas yanked Fennore around so that he had to look him in the eye. The old healer stood perilously close to the edge, his plate boot slipped. Belorim begged his father not to. The boy's pleas echoed stories below.

"Please, Fennore… I don't want to go alone. I never did."

Fennore bowed his head, wiped a hand across his eye then crouched to swing his legs over the edge and scale down along the ruined rock to find the next ruined stone level, or Mavia and N'shatai's bodies, wherever they might be. "At last I believe you, my Prince, but now it doesn't matter."

Fennore descended one level, then another in silence. Whenever he had to look up and check his handhold in a ledge of rock, Kael'thas was there, desperate and waiting… and then at some point, Fennore wondered when he stopped caring, his Prince had gone from the brink. To where, only the devil knew.

_Down below…_

Pyorin saw the blood stained walls, kept Daphne back and shouted to he others that they'd found Mavia. Liadrin, Sunthraze, Tempest, and the other Bloodknights came running in time to hear the crush of bones.

Mavia stood there with one muscled thigh level with N'shatai's collarbone. The huntress was pinned against a wall and suffocating. Mavia glared at her agonizing victim, her growl unwavering. Excellent muscle control even in beautiful translucent golden legs kept the succubus perfectly balanced while she watched her nemesis simply writhe and die. Every Demon Hunter spell in the world was useless when your opponent could copy her master's Divine Inversion spell to resurrect herself from a deadly fall and then, just as fast, crush your windpipe.

Mavia spoke to the Bloodknights, hips still opened to the room and unashamed, in true succubus fashion. "Come on and kill me then. Unlike yourselves, I know what in the hell I'm doing." Then she easily reversed her kick, let her quarry slump along the wall to leave a stain before falling face first on the ground.

Lady Liadrin was beyond words. As usual, Sunthraze wasn't. "We'll deal with you later, Bloodknight wannabe. Where are Fennore, and Kael'thas?"

Mavia sneered at him. "I am not this wannabee you speak of… In fact, I don't believe we have ever been properly introduced, feckless waste of life and magic. I am your death…"

They weren't very far away from the Royal Apartments and quite a few people heard. Sorn ran into the disheveled corridor and wanted to hear the answer to Sunthraze's question too… before he saw what Mavia and N'shatai had done to the room and got sick.

"Then the Prince is not with you, Advisor Sorn? What have you done with Fennore!" Mavia paused and worried at the old man. She looked wild, on the verge of something, and every Bloodknight in the room drew his or weapon. A slash of claws, a burst of Light…

Mavia hadn't needed to, but reached up and caught a falling Fennore who she'd protected with a divine protection shield.

Liadrin really frowned to see such an awful reunion.

Fennore sat up in his demon girlfriend's arms and hugged her. "Mavia! Oh, I knew you'd survive though Kael'thas said… Matriarch! Oh, everyone... you were all right about Kael'thas all along. He's really lost his mind with grief, and now I think it's too late."

Sorn pushed to the front of the group of annoyed, grumbling, eye-rolling Bloodknights. "What's too late? Where are he and Belorim? Are my little Princes safe?"

Fennore explained about Kael'thas giving into Kil'Jaeden's manipulation at last, confessed sorrowfully that he heard Kael'thas admit to a careful plan to betray them all for Kil'Jaeden's dark promises. Sorn and Lady Liadrin shared a desolate look. Fennore finished, "… and so when he asked me to go with him, I said no."

"You should have said yes!" Liadrin snapped back. "Stalked him for however long it took for that false Prince to let his guard down, then stabbed him in the back before he could do any more harm to this Country. And you left Belorim alone with him? Now, we have to go after Kael'thas and prevent him from doing to Outland and countless other places what he did to this ship. Now, if any of you here know how to reach him, then you'd better tell me right this minute, or heads WILL ROLL!"

Sorn had covered his face. "Lady Liadrin… is this truly the only way? So many people have given their lives for Kael'thas' freedom over the years… Your Saturna Whiteblade, notably… This breaks my heart. It is not what she would want."

Everyone sort f recalled then that Saturna, bless her, had been a helpless Kael'thas fangirl in life and possibly certifiably insane. That she'd taken a Bloodknight's oath probably kept her clear of the nuthouse in the first place.

Well, a lot more tactfully than I just did, anyways, considering the situation.

"No, Sorn." Liadrin stood her ground. "My Bloodknights have a higher calling now and there can be no question as to what's right or wrong. We are in consensus on this." Everyone reluctantly nodded. "Now, will you stand in our way when clearly you know something we all don't? I do not wish to repeat what King Anasterian did to our people through his wayward son."

Of course Fennore had something to say but that didn't clarify where Kael'thas had gone to. Sorn confessed that he heard Kael'thas often got strange calls on his scrying orb. The old man was too heartbroken to admit that, as Chief Advisor, he had known who they were from all along. But Sorn had not wanted to believe. They rushed past frantic people on the way to the Royal Apartments. Finally, Mavia, when prompted by Fennore, used the scrying orb a final time to contact Kil'Jaeden.

Liadrin braved the unthinkable and spoke to the Leader of the Burning Legion himself on behalf of all of Quel'thalas.

"Where is he!"

The man in the magical glass was strangely amused. _Well, well well… And so the feckless Bloodknights and I meet at last. Your kind are all that ever kept he and I apart, did you know that? What took you so long… and where's that other one?_

It made no sense. Liadrin sighed and insisted, "You can't have Kael'thas, Kil'Jaeden. Not when his country needs him dead. Justice will wait no longer—"

_If you want my royal mana pot—and he is indeed suffering right this moment—then you must come to me. You'll find a rat's nest of Legion tunnels beneath your ship on the surface of Netherstorm. If my minions don't kill you first… then you're welcome to an audience with me. Especially when I love Kaelt'has as much as you do, my darlings._

Pyorin screwed up his face. "Royal mana pot? My… darlings?" Liadrin shushed him.

"Kil'Jaeden, we WILL meet your challenge."

In the hush that followed the extinguished scrying orb, Sunthraze said, "Okay so… obviously this is a trap."

Mavia nodded, "And that is not Kil'Jaeden, I am certain of it now. But yet, he is also somehow familiar…"

Liadrin faced Sorn. "You know as well as I do that our powers could be put to use protecting what's left of Tempest Keep. But, surely you agree that settling things with Kael'thas is far more important."

"I understand, M'Lady. As for myself, I am sworn to the House of Sunstrider… if not the men themselves, then at least to their good works, however few. I will go down with this ship, in place of its captain. Though I wish it never came to this…"

Seventeen Bloodknights set out. They walked with a purpose through the fray of violence and destruction that was Tempest Keep. With every step they were aware that this was chaos their Prince had caused. Each man and woman drew their swords with new resolve and sensed that this would be the nastiest fight of their lives. So often, the Shatar and their allies insisted that the only thing keeping Bloodknights from being monstrous corruptors of the Light were their illogical vows to Prince and Country.

But when not even that was left?

Fennore threw his hands up in the air. "As horrible as this is, you have to admit that… well, we're doing the right thing for once. And coming from me that's got to mean something. We can feel good about that, at least."

Liadrin grumbled under her breath.

"But… we all failed our missions, though?" Pyorin scratched his head. "We're only going this far because we didn't do our jobs and now it's like we're killing our boss so that we don't get in trouble for it."

Tempest flinched at Sunthraze staring at her, yet again and said, "Well I'm dying to know what creepo pervert we're about to deal with, who would call Kael'thas his royal mana pot. That's sick—"

Mavia snapped her teeth and purred. "The Prince must be in a dungeon, then. Someone who is weak of mind would have to resort to putting him in a cage—"

"Oh, my Mistress of Oblivion, why does what you just said sound so kinky?"

Daphne swiped her mace at the only other healer, "Fennore, now come on! This is a tragic situation… and if we do make it out alive after stopping Kael'thas and saving Belorim, then we have to deal with your secret warlock pet killing one of Illidan's most loyal servants. Even if we do succeed…"

Sunthraze snickered, and Daphne glared at him. He said, "Sorry Daphs, it's just that… well, it's not like this would ever happen but wouldn't it be really funny if Kael'thas found himself exactly as she… No, nevermind."

They begged him to share, but Liadrin grabbed Sunthraze's shirt collar and put a stop to it. "Get your mounts. Get below the surface. Get Kael'thas!"

"But are we saving him and Belorim from Kil'jaeden? Or trying to execute him before he puts Belorim in danger?" Pyorin asked. "Just so I'm clear."

Liadrin didn't tell them that she was sure herself. "Let's just hope… it's not anything kinky. And by the way, good work Mavia the Maneater. I've never seen a Bloodknight do to a Demon Hunter what you did."

Mavia was not pleased by the compliment. She was starting to remember more than she wanted to from her time at the Black Temple years ago… and Illidan just happening not to be aware of what was going on with the scrying orb didn't sit well with her at all. Actually, it made far too much sense.

_No…Illidan would never let him… By the Nether and the Light… Please, anything but THAT!_


	32. He's a maneater

My Life for My Prince

**My Life for My Prince**

**Chapter Thirty-Three: He's a Maneater, make you work hard, make you spend hard, make you want all of his love… Wish you never ever met him at all!**

Mavia had a sort of adorable way of trotting about, the Bloodknights were forced to realize. The fly-hop-fly-growl-hop of her delicate Demon's wings and tiny scaled orange hooves was cheerful and even welcome compared to the vile black Demon spawns of Kil'jaeden that kept coming round corners and flying in batlike swarms from hidden trapdoors in the winding caverns beneath Netherstorm… Exactly as the creature in the scrying orb described. It wasn't hard to imagine, as they plumbed deeper and the air became more stale, the packs of wandering Demons better armed and more disciplined like officers, that the Burning Legion had managed to burrow directly underneath Tempest Keep itself. The vile heart of operations and its master surely lie ahead. This was the closest the enemy had ever come to setting up camp on Kael'thas' doorstep. It was really very hard to believe at this point that their Prince hadn't known all along… how could a talented Bloodmage ever miss this?

Mavia was able to guide them deftly through the maze of tunnels and it became obvious that she had connections in the Legion. She knew the Demons' strategy far too well. Sunthraze was the first to point this out, but that was followed up with a grateful 'thank you' from Lady Liadrin that no one else expected. And of course there also was,

"Isn't she maaarvelous?" Fennore nearly sang despite their horrid situation. His voice echoed off the walls of a chamber the group was forced to stop and get their bearings in. Three new tunnels branched off from there and Mavia wasn't sure which to take. "_I _found her back at the Black Temple. _I _trained her to be a Bloodknight. She's more than an Illidari Maneater, or even a Bloodknight now. Mavia's my little Mistress of Oblivion, the only of her kind, a Demonness that wields the darkest of magic but also your powers over the Light. Without you even knowing, _I_ initiated her into the Nexus—"

Pyorin clamped a hand over Fennore's mouth and exhaled angrily.

Tempest rolled her shoulders and eyed the three different passages open to them. "Yes, we're impressed with you, our little-healer-that-could. But Liadrin is the one who tests initiates to the Nexus, besides this not being the time or place to get into it… Incoming!" And suddenly Tempest charged off into the tunnel on their far left and caught a squawking black imp with the chipped edge of her axe. "There'll be more like this. Mavia, we need to know which tunnel to take, now."

Mavia rested a hand with needle-long black nails on one hip and then shifted the other while she considered. They'd already been down in the tunnel-maze for hours. One could see it in their worn, ragged visages.

"West. Legion bosses always take the larger tunnel." A snarl, "Because those tunnels often slope downhill. The blood of their enemies can flow thus, and pool around their black thrones. Grrrrrrrr."

Liadrin ignored Fennore clearing his throat in her ear. "Mavia, if you can get us to Kael'thas and forsake Kil'jaeden himself in our presence, then I would gladly offer you a place in the Blood Nexus."

This to many objections about Mavia's test being conveniently easy while Saturna made the rest of them kiss Demons to death, condemn their commander, do twelve arcane gelatin shots off the belly of an ogre…

Tempest cleared her throat then. "We… were really drunk. I _swear_ it was Saturna's idea."

Mavia, back still to them all, swished her tail idly and then strutted towards the tunnel on their right.

Sunthraze rolled his eyes. "She's gonna say No."

Worse than that, Mavia said nothing at all. Liadrin flushed red and offended like none of them had ever seen her before.

"Oh, I like Miss Maneater." Daphne whispered to Tempest. "We three could really do a number on Liadrin, don't you think?"

"I'm irreverent, you're too smart, and Mavia'll be the one who sits at the back of the classroom, claws stabbing the desk while she broods at the teacher without blinking."

Daphne didn't understand. "Like… she's better than us or something?"

Sunthraze passed by and scoffed, "Like? Is. Mavia's the only one of us with any sense. Wish I'd known better… Consensus or death… My life for my Prince my _ass_…"

_And speaking of the Prince…_

Kael'thas flexed his wrists in the fur-lined handcuffs, then looked all around himself at the cage bars. Belorim was someplace below, playing on the ground. That boy could manage a very mocking, very self-satisfied adult sort of laugh when he wanted to. He kept giggling, 'Das what you get! Das what you get, Daddy! Hehe…" over and over again.

Kael'thas grabbed the silver bars of his suspended prison and shook them angrily. That caused everything to rattle and what looked and felt like a gilded, oversized bird cage creaked and swayed dangerously. His view of the ground was dizzying at this height and he was used to riding phoenixes. Above were stalactites stained and dripping with whatever horrid green fel magic his captor had been conjuring nonstop for… weeks? Months? It infuriated Kael'thas that it'd all been so obvious, miles and miles underneath the thin air surrounding his ship and then some under ground. Kael'thas raged, lost his balance, then slipped and fell in what his captor had left him to wear.

"Funny, after all these years, I still never pegged you as a briefs man."

Kael'thas went red-faced and conjured a fireball that got absorbed by some enchantment on the bars. "FALTHERIEL!! You disgusting pervert, let me down from here!"

"Tsk tsk tsk. Naughty thoughts will not be tolerated. At least that's what I think she says when she's got a victim in her chambers."

"Who?!"

"Who? Her. The Maiden of Virtue of course. I did a lot of reading, and I mean a lot of reading over the last few years about some of the more fun parties Medivh used to throw in Karazhan. I needed ideas for my very own love dungeon." The slim young Blood Elf paced a circle around the cavern the three of them were sealed up in. There were paintings of Kael'thas everywhere, carved statues of the artist and his Prince together on pedestals, gold boxes with what Kael'thas had been told were toenail clippings, hair samples… and strangely enough no pilfered underwear… Kael'thas still worried that, if not Faltheriel, then his underwear thief was some other deranged, free-ranging fangirl sort of person… And all sorts of unsettling animal print curtains and lanterns covered with red paper that lent a very perverse aura to the place. Poor Belorim was shielded from most of it as he was in a box.

A box? Yes, but it was a nice box. A playhouse made of wood with no roof. Kael'thas could see down into it at his vantage point. The boy was playing with little carved Kael'thas figures and had a stack of scrawled on papers and crayons all to himself. Why was his son being treated so well? Kael'thas was truly afraid to ask and tempt fate.

"Faltheriel, do I have to kill you? Again! Now let me down from here and release my son!"

Faltheriel put both hands on his hips and tossed his head back. He may have been vile, because of where he was more than willing to follow his horrid imagination, but Faltheriel was not an ugly man, far from that. It was never right, that someone who appeared so polished could be so dangerous. It was exactly the reason Kael'thas overlooked Faltheriel's oddness at the start, years and years ago back when allying his Sunfury with Illidan Stormrage seemed a good thing.

"I have suffered greatly because of your selfish decisions, Kael'thas. An alliance with the mad Demon Lord and Betrayer, the careless loss of half your army to the Scryers, and these days, a persistent incompetence when it comes to all things good and right with the world have made me into your penultimate victim. Yes, you may have a son by some accident but you are not worthy of him. Prince Kael'thas Olvi'athon Sunstrider, you are only worthy of being humbled. Funny how clairvoyant even madmen can be… that is the one thing Illidan got right about you, that collar he forced about your neck." A tense, angry laugh, "But you see, Illidan only enslaved you before I could take you for myself. And I'd been working on that for years, ever since Silvermoon! DO YOU KNOW HOW INFURIATING THAT IS?!" Faltheriel pulled a seething breath. Belorim was startled and quiet.

A creak of swinging chain as Kael'thas could only hold the bars of his cage and hope that his fate with this new master would be better. "This… can't be the extent of your plans."

Bemused laughter came next. Heartless like that of a Thalassian socialite. "Do you wish for me to monologue? Like a real villain, not a man who wants love and justice for himself at last after his Prince abandoned him time and again? No, Kael'thas. What I will tell you is a story. A twisted, disturbing tale of abuse and worse. And then you will understand why, for all that you've done to hurt your people—hurt me! I deserve it back in equal but opposite measure. I want to exact pleasure from your wounds, considering what the Legion has finally cursed me with these last few years."

Kael'thas looked at Faltheriel, who shared so many of his high-born noble features. He who also gestured excellently and spoke well. How had they come from the same place in life before the war and turned out so tragically different? Both of them lost and now trying to serve the…

Burning Legion. A powerful feeling of déjà vu overcame Kael'thas then. He nearly expected Illidan to usurp the soul link between them and say, 'I told you so.' And then it occurred to Kael'thas that Faltheriel baiting him all these years was too blaringly obvious for Illidan to not have known. Perhaps at first, Illidan really had believed it was the Burning Legion courting Kael'thas and sneaking him Fel Reaver blueprints. Back at the Black Temple Illidan seemed convinced of that. But aside from N'shatai's independent investigations, Illidan had been strangely silent about it over the last few weeks. No surprise summonings into his apartments or third warnings.

Kael'thas realized in that moment he was a fool to think he'd tricked Illidan into believing the threat from the Legion had passed. Not when Illidan could hear him speaking to Kil'jaeden through the collar, or at least become frustrated at increasingly frequent magical interference and wonder why Kael'thas was working so hard to block him from listening. And perhaps Illidan had not needed to hear Kael'thas speak to the person he thought was Kil'jaeden all along, but merely suspect it. Especially when the full Demon Lord always had his own intelligence from a network of spies. They were in the middle of a war, Illidari spies were everywhere, N'shatai was the most obvious but there were many more convert ones of course… There were probably many years' worth of reports… the result of all that preparation brilliant full Demon Lord intuition which was thus: Illidan had figured out that it was Faltheriel behind everything weeks ago, and decided to do nothing about it. It must have been shortly after N'shatai arrived, when Illidan seemed not to notice anything and relaxed the pressure of threats. The result? Illidan had allowed Kael'thas to succeeded at only punishing himself.

"This is some goddamned practical joke, Illidan."

And there it was again, that near instinctual 'I told you so' that Kael'thas knew he was owed by the cohabitor of his soul. Somehow, the magical cage Faltheriel was using to stifle his mage spells also blocked out the Soul Link. Evenso, in a profoundly disturbing way that Kael'thas could not describe, he knew his suspicions to be true. Kael'thas was a warlock and Illidan was his Demon. It was impossible to miss. And also painful to realize that, once again, even if the Legion got its hands on him, Illidan would always be his master. That sick connection could not be undone.

"One never forgets good friends, Kael'thas. Especially if they go bad." Faltheriel had not heard Kael'thas' muttering but a smart wink from the once shadowpriest and Kael'thas recalled that nasty Mind Vision spell once again. Faltheriel could read minds like a book. "Now listen to me! You are finally going to listen to what I have to say, my Prince."

"No you won't. Illidan is going to come and save me from all this at the final moment. He wouldn't let me… Wait, did I just say that Illidan was going to come and save me?" a disgusted groan at himself, "Oh, for the love of—"

Faltheriel started pacing. "Even if Illidan has provided a length of rope on which to hang yourself, Kael'thas, he cannot penetrate this fortress. Do you know just how long I've been ordering my Demons to build this maze? I took every precaution to hobble you once you crossed the threshold. Why wouldn't I protect myself against Illidan as well?"

But Illidan was clever, he would figure something out, wouldn't he? Unless the Demon Lord truly was done with him after this final betrayal. A very horrifying fate, to be left at the absolute mercy of one's enemies, all the while knowing that one person could have warned you and prevented a lifetime of agony.

Faltheriel grinned evilly and told Kael'thas what he'd been on the brink of thinking: "Strike Three."

There was no strike three with Illidan, that is what the Demon Lord always told Kael'thas. Of course he hadn't seen it coming…

_Just outside…_

"Tempest of Light, Light Taunt, Hand of Light!" Daphne shouted over her comrades clashing blades with the enemy. Legion Demons had claws as sharp as steel and skin like their black plate armor. Everyone rushed away from Lady Liadrin who swung the glowing Whiteblade around in a wide arc to cleave an Emissary of Hate in two. The gray monster towered far above their heads and whipped about a tail set with some exotic blade weapon when he wasn't slicing at them with an axe. Liadrin recovered from Daphne's complex Lightweave spell and pointed for her to go heal Pyorin next.

"Nothing fancy this time! The man is bleeding to death. What is wrong with my healers today? Get your heads in it!"

And what was Fennore doing while Daphne was overburdened with her duties? Using his mana to cast warlock curses on everything. Daphne shoved him hard.

Against the other wall of the cavern, Tempest lost her shield to a female Irespeaker who leaned in on long legs to cast some vile spell with six hands. Liadrin shouted a warning about her as well, but Daphne was too far away.

Sunthraze came in and slashed with his red sword. Tempest parried his attack with her axe, got in front of him, and drew the enchanted longsword she kept at her waist. Tempest went at the Demoness with both weapons at once.

"I'm trying to help you! Are you crazy?"

Sunthraze moved around her to cut low and Tempest threw the full force of her upper body into slicing high. Together, they silenced and hobbled the Demon mage before she could unleash fel magic on them all. The cavern shook when the Irespeaker was felled. The last enemy before what looked like the doors of Kil'jaeden himself.

Tempest swallowed nervous relief. "I know… I'll get in trouble for falling back on Ranger instinct one day. Didn't mean to edge you out. But, protecting the innocent, fighting like a hunter… It just felt right, Sunthraze."

Sunthraze stared at the woman he once loved, then cocked his head to the side as if he hadn't heard her right. "You ever thought of training as a retribution Bloodknight? Sure you can tank, but all that ferocity is wasted on playing fangirl to Pyorin. If you were to learn what I know… You'd be like some kind of… psycho bitch-goddess from hell."

It wasn't really a compliment.

"Oh, I like you, little man."

But Tempest wasn't really a lady, either.

"It still… goes both ways." Then a flustered, "Hey, Liadrin. Are we there yet!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, NO!"

That was when they heard it. Horrid confirmation of the opposite:

"A Legion Ranger is a man, or a woman… sometimes even a _thing_," an elven voice they did not recognize filled the silence. The Bloodknights leaned on Kil'jaeden's door to hear it. "…who is sent to kill monsters greater than he is. And what is great, my Prince? Great things are vile, so bad that they are beautiful at how well they kill. Experts at making carnage. They make us want to take control of them, rather than obliterate them. You are a warlock. Surely you understand… But what does that really mean, to possess something? Enslaving a Demon is only a latent desire to make it a part of yourself. Some people say that a Demon pet is an extension of his master's will. I say… the black magic reaches both ways. The two hearts, the romantic savagery once shared, is hopelessly connected, for eternity."

Then the doors creaked open. The Bloodknights drew weapons but hesitated. A tiny red Imp, so small they almost missed the little Demon, bowed to them on the threshold, welcomed in and then scurried back into the red darkness. It took their eyes a while to adjust to strange light, but their little host stopped before a crouching form and then it took him gently, and stood.

Faltheriel Darkweaver put his hands on his hips and faced Liadrin and the others. They knew it was him because Mavia began to beg Fennore to please let her lead them all away or at least desummon her…

The tiny red imp on the Legion Ranger's shoulder pointed at their prey and chattered in Demonic. His master grinned and went on with his speech. "What I think I do, Impsy, is hunt Demons because I miss them so much. Especially that one. Illidan calls her Mavia the Maneater… and she's ruined me, truly. Never was there a name more accurate or ironic." Then he thought about this. "No, actually Alessandre came close, didn't he? And Shia'jin too… the first was a man who wasn't really a man and the second likewise cursed. One by choice, the other against his will. Now as for Kael'thas… he is very much like a Demon, actually. I believe he is the one going around cursing other people. People like me. Well then, that's enough of that."

Faltheriel craned his neck to look up at Kael'thas in the cage again and blew him a kiss. The Bloodknights followed with their eyes, only now seeing everything. "Tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow… skulls and bones, especially man-bones, the very best I think… blood tastes like copper and calcium is chalky… So what do you suppose Kael'thas will taste like when I bite him? Oh, but that will be a while yet. I have his guests to deal with first… but the arrival of the Bloodknights sort of confuses the rumor, doesn't it? You know, the one about our Prince's collar and his being bonded to Illidan Stormrage? Bloodknights come because the Demon Lord of Outland himself has no intention of coming. Oh!" an excited clap of his hands that made them all blink, "That will be like sleeping with both of them at once, Kael'thas and Illidan! And I'll admit, I always thought those Stormrage brothers were so handsome. Well, Malfurion isn't here but maybe we could get him… Now, if we could get Illidan and Malfurion, _and_ Kael'thas together at once… Alessandre also, of course. Oh, and then maybe Opalbane, Pasha, and Feathershine to make it even? Yes, that could work. What is it about Elves that we all secretly want to sleep with our family members, and then some. Damned hedonists we are. Well, when I have all the power, I'll make it so. Kael'thas on a collar, and oooh, I'll make him call everyone to bed at a certain time of day. Won't that be lovely, everyone sleeping together? Better than that time I was married to those folks… well, that's depressing, let's not think of so very many divorces at once. Ugh. And don't get me started on the alimonies… really awful of them to threaten me like that. One would think there wasn't a court in the land to enforce the rights of the lawless, but everyone wants to hump me I think, if not physically, then they want their financial share of fucking. So very evil of them to do, and the ladies from the Twilight's Hammer and the Shadow Council were the worst. The men, at least, didn't insist on leading a certain lifestyle, but those horrible women, they went on before the Legion barristers as if there were children involved. As if! Oh, I'm not talking too much, am I Impsy?" then a frown at the irate red Demon. "Well you should keep those kinds of mean things to yourself; it really isn't polite. Especially when I can happen to forget you're a tiny sentient being and mana tap you to death… Yes, I thought so. I don't mind if I go on and elaborate, either. Thank you, for listening, Impsy. Because _he_ doesn't ever listen to me."

Lady Liadrin nodded and signaled for them to line up on either side of the room. She was going in first, with the Whiteblade drawn.

"… and you destroyed your entire ship, Kael'thas, abandoned your Bloodknights, turned yourself in to the Legion all for little old me! Oh, Kael'thas! How I adore, you how I love you for finally coming through for me. I am getting the best promotion for bringing you in, you'll see. Kil'jaeden has promised me whatever I want if only I could manage it, and I could. He didn't believe me but I could! Because, look at you! Look at how beautiful you are, stripped of everything dangerous and just a man again. How could Kil'jaeden not let me keep you like this forever and always? We'll take over Outland together on behalf of the Legion and I'll fashion a better collar for you and everything…"

Fennore flinched. "Holy elekk shit…This is exactly what we saw during Pathaleon's Launch Entertainment. And everything he's saying… that is exactly what happens to Kael'thas!"

Kael'thas would have covered himself or at least hid from his disappointed Bloodknights somehow but he had nothing to cover up with except for shackled wrists. And what made it worse, the room was a nightmare of fandom come alive. A sanctuary that even the late Saturna Whiteblade would approve of. This made the Bloodknights slip into a disturbed silence for their poor, captured monarch.

Well, nearly everyone. While Liadrin sighed heavily, Sunthraze's upper lip quivered, then he snerked, snickered, and finally burst into howling laughter that would have singed a hyena's ears. Sunthraze dropped his sword, clutched his stomach and fell on his knees with it.

Mavia looked at Faltheriel like she knew him, and perhaps that is what gave her the confidence to go first. "Old… friend." An uncomfortable squint of a glowing yellow eye. "Surely, this… is not what you want. To hurt our Prince?"

Faltheriel threw his hands up in the air and everyone, including Sunthraze, fumbled a few steps back. And they inevitably brushed against creepy Kael'thas statues and other trinkets that caused them to start forward again. "Friend! Friend? We are _not_ friends, Mavia the Maneater. What happened to, 'just join the Legion Faltheriel, like I did. Illidan won't know.' Or, 'Kil'jaeden isn't so bad if Kael'thas and the Scryers won't even have you back.' And here's my favorite: 'I'll meet you at their stronghold and introduce you to the right people so that Kil'jaeden's thugs won't eat you alive when you first join! Do you even know what Legion hazing is like for newcomers?! Well, do you! My knees and elbows were worn raw. I had to sit on a bucket of ice for a week!"

Everyone began speaking loudly that they didn't want to know…

"SHUT UP!" Faltheriel shouted. "Kael'thas is here for a reason. I worked hard for this, I am going to have my revenge." Faltheriel pinched his fingers together, "When they finally promoted me to Legion Ranger I made it a point to take revenge on every Demon bastard that ever abused me within the Burning Legion. And you all know Mavia well by now, their system is not like the Thalassian military. If someone bites you and you can't bite them back, then you aren't strong and you might as well be dead. And the Legion is better off for culling the weak. But if you become a Legion Ranger, you're one of the big dogs. And I've got the biggest sharpest teeth in my regiment. Each one of those people who hazed me and mistreated me, tortured my mind and body… they're dead now in the worst possible way." He looked up at the cage, a neat slip of blonde hair fell over Faltheriel's shoulder. "Kael'thas. You are the very last person who needs to be punished for hurting me. I've been working on your psyche for three long yeas now. I don't know why you didn't destroy your own Bloodknights, like I wanted you to when Liadrin and the others arrived, but that doesn't matter." He turned back to them, and Faltheriel took a step closer in his handsome black robes lined in gold. "Nor do I understand how you even navigated or survived the journey through the maze around my personal stronghold. I expected a challenge, I expected maybe one or two of you to make it this far… Mavia is good with Kil'jaeden's power, I realized. But she's not supposed to be this good."

"I am a Bloodknight now, as well as a Maneater."

Faltheriel shook his head at her. "Man-eater? No, I'm the one who really eats men. You only torture them." He grinned evilly at her and Fennore put a hand to trembling Mavia's arm, unbelieving that she was so afraid. "You are newly on Kil'jaeden's most wanted list for betraying him, did you also know that? Guess whose job it is to bring you in and have you flogged... but not necessarily in that order. Though I despise you for leaving me to hang dry before Kil'jaeden all those years ago at the Black Temple, Mavia, I still think you're pretty enough to flog first."

Fennore defended his woman. "You'll touch her over nothing less than my dead body!"

Charming Faltheriel shifted his gaze briefly to Daphne and Tempest who were staring and blew them a kiss. They blushed with shame. "As you wish, Immortal Demonologist."

"Wait, how do you know I'm a—"

Mavia warned them all, too late. "Faltheriel is a shadow-priest—"

_The world was a fel-green haze. It smelled of pitch and brimstone._

_Fennore looked for Mavia but couldn't find her. The others, he sensed, were too far away to help._

"_Is that what you want, Immortal Demonologist?"_

"_Faltheriel! You curr… I was trained as a priest also. Enough of this Mind Vision spell. Face me like a man!"_

"_Oh, you're sexy. In a 'my black soul is sweaty and exhausted from humping a feminine manifestation of Demon magic non-stop for the last two months' sort of way. If you want it, you can certainly have it…"_

Faltheriel appeared before him, naked, and seized Fennore's neck when he gave into that surprised mortal reaction to nakedness. "Because maybe you liked what you saw… I'll end you quick." And then Faltheriel came around with his other hand to caress the Bloodknight like a lover, before snatching a handful of Fennore's hair and snapping his neck.

"_My love! My Master!" Mavia cried out next. She was also lost in a green fog. Though she did not know where she was, Fennore's voice was apparent in the distance. And through their bond, she knew that he was suffering…_

"_Miss me?"_

_Mavia stopped in her tracks and raised her whip. "We were allies once, by Illidan's side. Do not think I will be taken in by this Mind Vision. The others are here too, somewhere, and they will assist me in destroying you."_

_A column of bright green mist formed, then blew away in a tempest wind. Faltheriel stood with hands on his hips. His nakedness was no distraction for the succubus but the terrifying mask he wore made Mavia start. There were two twisting horns and no holes or opening whatever for the Legion Ranger to see or breathe. And yet, Mavia knew from experience that it didn't matter. People like Faltheriel, who were touched with Kil'jaeden's power in such a way did not need to breathe._

"_This is a fun mask."_

_Mavia cowered._

"_In case you were wondering how I did it…" and then he lowered his voice as if to mock her… no, he was mocking someone else, doing an impression. "VAKKA ZU RASHKA. I AM THE RUINATOR, THE LORD OF ALL, THE MASTER OF THE LEGION…"_

Mavia dropped her whip and covered her mouth with shaking claws. "You dare impersonate Master Kil'jaeden himself… that is how you fooled Kael'thas with the scrying orb? For such a high crime, you will damn us all!"

"Damned? Oh, my old friend, you must brush up on your swear-words. The more accurate usage is 'fucked.' I will be fucked Kil'jaeden. No, now I'm using the wrong tense actually," and he tapped his sharp chin. "I… have been fucked by Kil'jaeden. He and his minions have destroyed my life and I will hate him forever for it. Hate him while I serve him. That is the way of the Legion. No greater curse can be upon my soul than having chosen to serve that vile man, according to YOUR ADVICE!"

Faltheriel slapped her hard and Mavia fell. She looked up to see the bottom of a dark boot coming down on her skull…

_Daphne could not see the danger around her and conjured a Divine Shield when she thought she heard something. The sick crush of bone against flesh. Someone being beaten, the perpetrator screaming with rage as he kicked and punched flesh again and again…_

"_Oh, you're so very pretty." The screaming stopped and Faltheriel was before her suddenly. Daphne could not miss the red mess on his left boot. He was fully dressed now in a dark green set of armor. Flat spikes jutted up from the shoulderguards and these were tipped in several slender red flags that flowed and moved together like a cape._

_She said,"I am a powerful healer, I warn you—"_

"_And I am her tank." Pyorin stepped out of the swirling green miasma behind the Legion Ranger. "We two are some of the most capable Bloodknights in existence. I'm warning you to stand down before this gets ugly."_

_Faltheriel turned completely around to look at Pyorin. The pieces of his cape wavered only slightly in the rushing green wind, so unnatural._

"_Oh, this is rich. I've not seen a love triangle, quadrangle… pentagram? So very entangled since the time I helped the Master Rogue of Darnassus apprehend the old god Zar'teaus on Azeroth."_

"_Master… who?"_

_Faltheriel waved a dismissive hand. "This is a bad time to speak of family, anyways. You'll have to excuse me."_

_Daphne winced. "Are you saying that… you're related to Night Elves somehow? But that doesn't make any sense."_

"_Being as beautiful as you are, and as kind, but not having been bedded properly by a good man, that is what really makes little sense around here." To Faltheriel's accurate perception, Daphne blushed. "And you, messing around with your ex-girlfriend when you could have someone so lovely… tsk tsk." Faltheriel pouted at Pyorin. "Like Romulo and Juliet. Two stupid, stupid, horny people who will probably fuck the walls first before they can find each other—"_

"Don't speak about Daphne that way!"

Faltheriel raised a hand and unleashed some dark spell on the woman in question. The shadow magic consumed her in a flash of purple magic. "Fine then. Now I'm speaking about a pile of ash."

Tears in his eyes, "You bastard!"

"Tut tut. Don't raise that sword at me. Especially not if you don't mean it." Then Faltheriel snapped his fingers and Pyorin's own shadow swelled into a pool of black magic. It smoked and seared through his plate, burning him alive.

"_You people are so fun to kill."_

_Tempest and Liadrin heard the voice but could not see the man. They stood back to back, weapons cocked. Sunthraze paced around the women, dragging his longsword._

"_Sunthraze, will you take this seriously?" Liadrin fretted. "I've never experienced a Mind Vision spell this terrible. This… Faltheriel Darkweaver is not just reading our minds but also manipulating them. Who knows what could have already happened to the rest of the Nexus!"_

_Sunthraze shrugged. "But that's just it. This is pretend. Filth-ariel or whatever his name is might be a Legion Ranger but he's still a caster right? He was trained as a shadow-priest, that is what Mavia said before everything went green and goofy around here. He can't fight us with a sword the way we can. A good retribution Bloodknight can rip apart people stuck in robes and reliant upon spells, I've done it before._

_Tempest seemed to believe him. She relaxed as well. _

"_Oh no, not you too. I have many more years of experience with this sort of thing than either of you do. Trust me, we must stay alert."_

"_No, what we must do is follow our own instincts for a change instead of being stuck…" Tempest sputtered a bit, angry, "Well, you need to just stop being a tight-assed hypocrite trying to order around all kinds of things about our lives that just don't matter, okay?"_

"_How dare you speak to me like that—"_

"_Shut up, Liadrin!" Tempest flared, "If you don't like my lifestyle, then keep it to yourself, for once. I'll just end up making my own mistakes and finding out whether or not I'm wrong anyway. So you can save your energy for Anasterian or Blaize or whatever man-candy it is this generation."_

_Tempest covered her mouth with a hand. "You… and… King Anasterian?!"_

_Sunthraze was wide-eyed too. "Tempest, that's ludicrous. Why would you even say something like that?"_

_A rich laughing echoed all around them. "Dance, my puppets, dance…"_

_Swords back up and at the ready, all three Bloodknights huddled together, watching each other's backs… and then suddenly one comrade's back looked bare and exposed, so easy to strike…_

Sunthraze threw himself into a swing at Tempest's head that she parried. Their eyes met and the anger between them faded. They weren't doing this to each other, but being made to want it.

Liadrin ran Tempest through with the Whiteblade, and the redhead coughed up blood, folded in half before Sunthraze's eyes. He panicked, despaired, and that was enough time for the Bloodknight Matriarch to take him down too.

"Smart-mouthed, good-for-nothing, scandalous Nexite whelps."

Faltheriel unfolded his hands from around Liadrin's over the hilt of the sword, finger by finger. Next, he smoothed these up along her arms and kissed the woman's neck before slicing it open with a dagger. Liadrin reached for her throat in the end but it didn't matter.

Far up above, Kael'thas saw Liadrin die with the rest and stopped shouting. "Oh by the gods… Faltheriel, you're sick. You're sick! You could have swatted them all dead like gnats when they first came in here but you toyed with them, you tortured my Bloodknights for no reason at all when you could have just ended it. And people say that I'm selfish and cruel."

Faltheriel dusted off his black robes and made an absent gesture at the cage hanging from the ceiling. It descended on a fel green chain so that Kael'thas was now on the ground beside him.

"Admit that you are impressed. Confess that you wished my offer was a real hand up from Kil'jaeden. You see how my shadowpriest abilities have been augmented and you wonder how amazing you'd be with such Legion-given powers."

Kael'thas looked away. Belorim was oddly quiet in his playhouse-box, and Faltheriel went to check on him. "There, there, little one. What I did wasn't really so scary was it? You liked it too, didn't you? Maybe you can't see from where you are," and Faltheriel reached in and picked the boy up. "Look, six dead Bloodknights all in a row. Well, actually, I put the two there, one in the middle and got the others in an arc. Sort of like a smiley face. Do you like it?"

Belorim looked from his father to Faltheriel. Kael'thas grabbed the bars again. "Please, I'll do whatever you want. Just leave him be."

"Oh? Would you like me to take him back to Tempest Keep and give him to Advisor Sorn? Or perhaps hand your son back to the Lady Liadrin? Both of them are dead, you know. And your interdimensional warship is a smoking husk by now. I saw to that. Now Belorim will be my pet too. We'll raise him together, like a family. I've always wanted a doting husband, and a child…" a nervous twitch, "Not like that Troll Shia'jin, abandoning me like that…"

Belorim stopped sucking his thumb nervously. He gave Faltheriel a dangerous look with his little face all scrunched up. "I already have a mommy."

Faltheriel laughed, delighted. "Oh, an adorable little monster… Bim Bim, I'm your mommy now."

"You can't call me that!"

"Son… please don't upset him."

"You would stand by and let this happen?!" Belorim accused of his father next, far too mature.

Captor and captive blinked. "Well, little boy, maybe I'll be your daddy instead. You'll have two daddies. Better off that way I think, since your mother was such a scheming whore."

Belorim dug his little fingers into Faltheriel's sleeves. Faltheriel winced because it hurt and tried to pry them free but the boy wouldn't let go.

Belorim's voice went low and cold. Kael'thas couldn't believe he recognized it, _"You want to have my Sunshine, punish him for what he's done against everyone, then fine. I made the same decision when I learned what he was really about at the Black Temple three years ago, to bring Kael'thas to justice. But you will NEVER, EVER harm my son. I would take him out of this world first…"_

"… Sa-Saturna?"

"_OF COURSE IT'S ME, YOU JACKASS!"_

Kael'thas did something close to yelp and curled his toes over the edge of the cage. "But how… you were possessing Belorim this entire time? Why did you never say anything to me!"

"_Do you want to turn this into a fight? Because I'd gladly take off that blonde airhead of yours again!"_

"Airhead? Excuse me! I'm not the psycho fangirl who…" he realized at last, "forced my baby son to steal my underwear and make the alarms go off in the apartment for no reason at all… and open the painting that I could have _sworn_ I'd locked shut that one time!"

"_Aaaaaaaaargh!" _

Faltheriel finally put Belorim down. He stepped away from both he and his father. "You mean… Saturna the ghost isn't just haunting your bedroom in Tempest Keep? She is living _inside_ of your son's head? How did you miss that!"

"I didn't… well, she's supposed to be dead, and it's not as if I was looking for her—"

"_That's exactly the problem with you, Kael'thas. You don't pay any attention to me! And give me one good reason why you weren't looking for me either!"_

Kael'thas knew better than to answer. He snapped his mouth shut.

"_Oh, I'm dealing with you later, Kael'thas Olvi'athon Sunstrider! And if you thought Illidan's wrath was going to be bad, try the wrath of your baby's mother!" _

Faltheriel glared at Kael'thas. "You didn't even marry her? How uncivilized of you."

"You put left me in a loincloth and forced me into a cage!"

Belorim walked over to the Whiteblade that lay alongside Liadrin's body while the two men gave way to arguing. It was the annoying sort of conversation Kael'thas and his biggest fanboy always ended up having. Faltheriel needed to stay away from him, Faltheriel had no intention of listening… Kael'thas was going to kill him the moment he got out of whatever binds, cage, legal entanglement caused by Faltheriel this time around, etcetera.

The boy turned the blade white. It only shimmered at first, but then the Light expanded the length of the blade. The sunrays along the edges caught the magic, began to dazzle and finally it became apparent that the child had put all of his undeveloped Sunstrider gift into the sword. He was trying to use it for the first time.

"_Bim Bim, do you hear me? I know that you want to help, but you have to listen to your mother for once."_

"_Yes, mommy."_

"_You are too little to pick up the sword, but you can make the Light move in another way, you can direct it."_

"Like a pet?"He had been frightened at first, but now Belorim was getting excited.

"_Yes. Now, I know that this must be scary for you…"_

"No mommy, I am brave. I want to help them. I can do it!"

A gentle laugh, "_Oh, yes you can. Yes, my little love you can. Especially because your father is so useless…Now, tell the magic what you want it to do. Nevermind the sword for now…"_

Belorim made tiny fists. He raised them above his head the way he often saw his father do. Belorim watched the Light with a smile and then unleashed it. The weak spell trickled over Lady Liadrin and then dissipated.

"_Oh sweetheart… I'm sorry. It's alright. You did your best…"_

The Bloodknight Matriarch got up very carefully, smiled at Belorim, and then took the Whiteblade in hand. She crouched, and crawled over to Kael'thas' cage.

"…And it's like what I said last time, Kael'thas. If you didn't love me then you would have killed me by now. But you can't do it. I can convince you of your feelings for me with time, and that's what this whole thing is, time that I'm buying for our love. Maybe the Fangirl Scout Chapter Mother you got mixed up with before we had a chance to make this connection confused you. But that's only because Saturna is, well, let's admit it, she's lost her mind. Woo-oo, crazy," and he waggled a finger at his temple. "But the fangirl-for-life clause doesn't count when you're a ghost. I was in her club afterschool on most days, I know that much. And this stuff is serious. Once a Fangirl Scout, always a Fangirl Scout. Location and whether or not you pay your yearly membership dues doesn't matter. One doesn't even have to sell mint cookies. It's about what's in your heart, and I swear that I love you—"

Kael'thas' knuckles went white over the bars. Faltheriel looked down to see that he'd been run through with the Whiteblade and by someone who was supposed to be dead of all things.

Liadrin shook her head. "Young man, you should have stayed in school longer. If I was the school-mistress I would have never let you be a truant and run away from home to join the Prince's army. A few good whacks on the wrist with a ruler would have done it, I'm sure."

Then, she kicked Faltheriel free of the blade. He collapsed on the ground and moaned in agony, reached for Kael'thas before finally expiring.

"Your son resurrected me, not that you noticed or care. I have half a mind to leave you in that cage to rot for going down the wrong path, Kael'thas. I told you from the beginning that the Burning Legion was not the answer."

"Son you… did you cast your first spell?" he was elated.

Liadrin opened the cage for Kael'thas and set about resurrecting the others. Then she flew into a lecture about the importance of staying in school, away from cigarettes when frantic Tempest tried to light one, and minding Mind Vision Spells. She didn't see Belorim collapse. His father ran to catch him.

"_Kael'thas…" _ Bereft and feeling more alone now than ever, he knelt over his son and listened to the voice of the ghost that haunted the boy.

"You've been doing this to him, Saturna? As you said in the dream… you've been upset and torturing Belorim's mind. That is why his soul is so sick, why he was never able to take that kind of strain… and now casting that resurrection spell. You've pushed him too far!" Kael'thas held Belorim in his arms. "Why would you do that?"

"_It was not my choice! Do you think I wanted this?" _Her voice began to fade, as the light in Belorim's blue eyes waned. _"This afterlife is torture… I was not meant to be here with him…"_

"So then someone forced you inside of our son's mind, is that it? I loved you Saturna, so deeply… but do really you expect me to believe that?" a stitch in his brow, "If he dies, then I blame you! Ghost or no."

"_Please believe me… I beg you to forgive me. I did not want this…"_

Kael'thas wrestled with it. Loving her in the past had been so easy. Saturna had always been so good to him, even when Illidan tortured her, she fought him because she believed it was the right thing to do. And here she was again, begging for his help. Kael'thas hugged Belorim to his chest in trembling hands and worked past the anger, dared to forgive. With that came clear, unburdened thought. "You did not choose this… Then someone chose for you… Liadrin said that she had help… Belorim? Bim, please, try to answer… what is the name of your imaginary friend?" Kael'thas realized his mistake. He already knew that it'd been Saturna all along. But it was the person he thought had been haunting Belorim. Another woman he'd mentioned. "Son, you said her name was… the name of the person who helped Liadrin bring you back. At least twice you said, Ann… Anny? Annabel…?"

"_Anveena."_

Kael'thas thought of Rommath's report about Sunwell Isle, Liadrin's vow not to reveal the person's name, the sort of power one single person would need to have in order to bring his son back, all of it…

And then Kael'thas looked at Faltheriel's body some feet away. What if he could have that kind of power at last? Maybe Kil'jaeden would want one of his servants returned to him. That would be impressive, killing a Legion Ranger, Kael'thas was sure of that. He could tell Kil'jaeden that he'd done it, and unraveled Faltheriel's three-year plot, all to impress Kil'jaeden. And the leader of the Burning Legion would be impressed. How could he not? Faltheriel's efforts over the last three years had been careful and nothing short of brilliant. Without ever meeting him or touching him, Faltheriel single-handedly convinced Kael'thas to destroy all of his holdings, abandon his country, ruin his alliance with Illidan Stormrage… Kael'thas could make Kil'jaeden believe that he had bested one of his most clever servants. Kil'jaeden would even have the magic to heal Belorim. Well, exorcise was the more accurate word, Kael'thas now knew.

"_Sunshine! I know that mischievous look. Oh, don't you dare even think it…" _

Or, he could go home to his psycho fangirl baby's mother and admit that all he'd ever done in Outland had been a horrid mistake. Though Kael'thas couldn't pretend that he didn't love Saturna, and deeply despite everything… arguing with her again even gave him a secret thrill. And now Saturna was a ghost, pleading with him to become a better person. Even if it was impossible for them to be together, shouldn't he listen to this last Bloodknight, his first and true champion and try…

Then again, wouldn't a life with vengeful Kil'jaeden be far less annoying, to say the least?

_Later…_

Lady Liadrin and the others searched the chamber and the winding caverns beyond for Kael'thas, Belorim, and Faltheriel's body for the rest of that evening.

Pyorin was the one to finally call it off. "Let's face it. We failed him again. And with Faltheriel gone, who knows what Kael'thas set out to do? As Father Tank I'm taking charge of this, Liadrin. I think we all need to start asking ourselves what we're going to do without Kael'thas. Not what we're going to do for him. Chasing after Kael'thas and his crazy fangirl…boy… persons," a headscratch, "is no way to live."

Daphne put a hand on Liadrin's shoulder. "It's over. I'm so sorry, Matriarch. But clearly Kael'thas chose his path. The only thing left to do is go home and tell the people the truth."

It was hard to let go, and Lady Liadrin was a stubborn woman. "We'll… we'll take our time. Oh Belorim… Let's tie off our loose ends in Outland first, before going back."

She didn't have to say it. The shame of losing Belorim as well as his father was enough to make them all never want to go home again. Even if what Quel'thalas needed now, more than ever, was to know that they were always better off without Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider. And the Knights of the Blood Nexus should certainly be the ones to do so. The most powerful Bloodknights in existence could maybe even begin a new era in Silvermoon. One free of corruption, dedicated to the people and upholding justice…

Sunthraze sucked his teeth and said, "Yeah well, as far as Kael'thas is concerned, all I can say is… I told you so."

Liadrin banged her head against the nearby rock wall. "Should have… left you all… dead. Argggh!"


	33. It's like patch 24 but not

Son of Kael'thas

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Thirty-Three: It's like patch 2.4 but not**

They either went back to Tempest Keep because it seemed like the only honorable thing to do, defending what was left of Quel'thalas to the last man… or, because the Bloodknights saw that it was still standing and couldn't really believe it.

A very relieved General Blaize greeted Liadrin and the others in what was left of the Royal Apartments. "Why am I not surprised that when it came down to the wire, NONE of you pompous, self-righteous, psycho Paladins—"

Liadrin growled back, "Bloodknights!"

"…Whatever. Not that I care where you went at this point. Tempest Keep has been saved by some very clever strategy my lieutenants and I put together right when it was needed. We _would have_ had the Bloodknights fly out on Netherdrakes and taunt the Demons into the Netherspace between Tempest Keep, the Botanica, and the Mechanar, but Kael'thas' geek patrol did just fine instead. Apparently, the prospect of a free lunch when so many cloth-wearing Cabinet bookworms were 'fleeing' with their expensive equipment right at the apex of that overcharged lei line was too much for the Burning Legion. It caused the Demon soldiers to break rank, and then we overloaded it from the inside… every little disgusting creature they sent to chew on our power sources on the outside of the ship and every ridiculous fiend that wanted first crack at what looked like evacuating Blood Elves got fried to a crisp." At that, Blaize removed his plate gauntlets and threw them down on Kael'thas' desk. "Which left us a more sizable army to work with… every able-bodied Blood Elf, pencil-neck or no, in this place was more than happy to lend a hand. And then, of course, Illidan's men showed up after a while and finished it off."

Sorn was decisively quiet in the background as he guided lesser advisors in black robes to and from Kael'thas' apartments with crates of his old things. Pyorin scratched his head and Sunthraze let out a low whistle when everyone craned their necks to see each treasured possession being piled onto a rubbish heap in the anterior room.

And of course, General Blaize looked smug as ever. "Kael'thas finally let you all down, didn't he? I'm the one in charge now."

It made perfect sense. Afterall, he was next in line... until Liadrin exploded, "LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" she leaned over the desk so that they were wrankled nose to wrankled nose. "Do you think I would ever let you get away with what we set forth together, out of a desire to strengthen the bond between our Prince and his army? Even if Kael'thas has fallen, the seat of kingship belongs to the royal House of Sunstrider."

"Where is the sticky-fingered Prince Belorim Sunstrider, then? Bring him forth and I will gladly give up this seat." Kael'thas' old chair creaked as Blaize propped his feet up on the royal desk and got comfortable.

Tempest set her jaw tight, but started up a cigarette rather than say anything. Sunthraze snorted laughter at Blaize. "The day you rule Quel'thalas is the day we all pick up the fine art of jackass tossing." This was received very well by his comrades, and so over irreverent snickering Sunthraze felt comfortable enough to go even that far, "Ladies and gentlemen… shall we?"

Each Knight of the Blood Nexus got an arm or leg, and then dragged a struggling Blaize out of the royal apartments. Liadrin shouted for them to stop, then unable to control her laughter, told them to go as far as the front door at least. There, Blaize was left outside the door behind sparking threads of violet power he could not trespass back across. Fennore went and changed the security code.

Liadrin sighed. Her ten other Bloodknights in black plate had been sent out to quell any unrest until the Kael'thas' ex-champions could think of something better to do. "Prevention of a coup in Kael'thas' absence, check."

Daphne quirked a blonde eyebrow. "But safeguarding all of Outland, Azeroth, and gods know where else from said renegade Bloodmage… not so much. Oh, and poor Belorim!" she glared at Pyorin beside her and slapped him on the shoulder. "How could you let this happen?"

"Me? What did I do?"

"No not you… All of us! We somehow managed to fail our Princes," a quick count on her fingers, "Seven… eight… counting the confrontation with that creepy Faltheriel, times in a row!"

"Nine, counting Saturna." Sunthraze stared off into nothing. "Liadrin… Bloodknight Matriarch… what are we meant to do when absolutely everything fails? If our lives aren't for Kael'thas, and his country is in ruins… if even his General and what's left of his army is terribly corrupt… can we even go on at this point? Or go back? Rommath is against us in Silvermoon, and Blaize is against us here. Kael'thas, that bastard, was the only one keeping it all together."

Liadrin drew the Whiteblade and ran a finger down the bright gold flat of the broadsword. Every one of their faces were reflected. Her heart swelled with grief, as she recalled all that they had done together in Azeroth, then in Outland, after the fall of Silvermoon. Lives had been sacrificed for Kael'thas, and honor. Dignity cast to the winds… How could she tell them what she knew to be the truth? Just like with Arthas and his Frostmourne, there was nothing left to them all but darkness.

Pyorin and Tempest got their shields ready and started shouting orders when Blaize fought back through the front doors flanked by guards. He was flustered about something and wouldn't be denied. The seasoned General had got a poor Sunfury Scout by the collar and a good foot off the ground.

"Evidence! Evidence that I should be King! Tell them what Halduron sent from Quel'Danas."

The Sunwell. Liadrin made them all hush. "Blaize, I swear if this is some kind of low trick, like with those papers we drew up…"

The Scout was set down peaceably so that he could speak clearly and to them all with no coercion whatever. He withdrew a crackling scroll from his vest and read:

"I require aid. My own Rangers and the Dawnblade have been turned against us. They do not know the truth, that Kael'thas is corrupt. Please send reinforcements immediately to the Sunwell, Lady Liadrin. Or else, I assure you that absolutely everything that matters to our people will be lost."

Blaize set about raving immediately. "I TOLD you! Now, scout, go round up the best of the Sunfury and—"

"Be quiet!" Liadrin snatched the message to read for herself. "Not only is this meant for me and not you, General Blaize, you can't afford to remove any troops from the Keep at this point. You stay here or else I will recommend you to Rommath for courtmarshalling, and with your record against Kael'thas, fiend or not, the Grand Magister WILL have your head for abandoning the most powerful Thalassian stronghold in Outland, so help me!" then to her Nexites. "You all know what to do…"

Tempest rolled her eyes and exhaled a long drag of cigarette. "Get your mounts, get to Sunwell Isle, get Kael'thas, yadda yadda, we know."

Daphne wondered, "Will there be a very specific objective this time?"

Fennore winced, "Perhaps a very simple one that we can't possibly botch up?" Mavia twirled then cracked her whip beside him.

Pyorin shrugged his big shoulders. "What we're all trying to say is… like, just… name it and then say kill it. Because this is getting waaay too complicated."

Liadrin smacked her forehead then flushed red. "YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE MOST CAPABLE BLOODKNIGHTS IN EXISTENCE!! I swear I will bring the heavens down upon your heads if you screw this last thing up! Now, come on!" and rushed ahead of them out of the door.

Sunthraze muttered, "She still didn't say what we're about to do."

Blaize strutted past them with his soldiers. "Don't come back. That's a good a plan as any."

Sunthraze and the other Nexites took one last look around the keep. Burnt out vaulted ceilings and the Core bereft of its dazzling phoenixes, dejected soldiers, all the bones and husk of gaping just-spent chaos.

"For once, I think we all agree with him." Mavia saluted, and walked calmly into whatever oblivion awaited them just beyond that front door. Her voice carried. "A dark future, yessss. The end of an era, of courssse… Sexy death, unfettered revenge, an orgy of ruination. Meet your match. We are worse. We are the Knights of the Blood Nexus."

It made them feel like they could do it.

_Much later, on Sunwell Isle…_

Lady Liadrin crooked a finger over her lips and made a signal for Tempest and Sunthraze to stay put. To Daphne and Pyorin, she waved and they rushed stealthily through the shadows to hide behind another crimson column. The Magister's Terrace housed the Sunwell itself, an expansive golden pool the exact proportions of a celestial disc. Red marble lined walls and gold accent like threads of veins beneath a mortal's skin stretched long, and high up above. As the magical font of arcane magic shimmered and throbbed at the center of that great room, it flickered along the dark walls and caused the gold slivers of stone to pulse with similar excitement.

And then Liadrin looked at Anveena, and Kael'thas' angry trembling fingers around her frail neck. Her panicked heartbeat was surely the same. Kael'thas had his father's blackened skull in his other hand. That was the only thing that kept Halduron and Kalec the dragon-man at bay. Belorim sat mute and terrified at his father's feet.

The Blood Elf Prince spoke to Anveena in fearsome snarls. "I… will… kill you. You WITCH!"

Anveena's voice was eerily calm, though by her movements one could tell that she feared for her life. "I did what had to be done, for the good of all creatures."

"There is only ONE creature, one person that I've ever cared about!"

Kalec raised black elven eyebrows and accused, "Yourself?"

"Yes!" Kael'thas glared at him and slammed Anveena harder into the stone wall, making it painfully clear who was still in charge. "Me! Because I am the Prince of Quel'thalas! This is my land, and my birthright. That Sunwell is MINE!"

"It belongs to all your people, my Prince." Halduron mediated with a shaky raised hand. "Now please, we've been at this for hours… please just put her down. And Anasterian's skull too… no one needs to get hurt."

Then Kael'thas began whispering to Anveena and she shook her head, began to cry. "Do it, now…" Liadrin listened to him gripped the red column she crouched behind with Fennore and Mavia, stunned at what she could only imagine mad Kael'thas was saying to this perfect creature, "Use your magic… bring it to Azeroth, finally… finish what Arthas started… Kil'jaeden served at last… Or I will break your neck."

The purpose of the Blood Nexus was more clear now than ever. Liadrin drew the Whiteblade. She pointed, and Sunthraze readied his Hand of Light. Pyorin prepared for his Light Taunt, Daphne whispered spells under her breath. Tempest set her shield ablaze but kept it at her back to hide the light, waited… Mavia drew her whip and Fennore readied to heal. "On my mark… One, two, three—"

"By all the Dragonflights, Kael'thas! We cannot use the power of the Sunwell to bring back your dead ex-girlfriend! It just isn't done! Are you INSANE?"

An irrational, near squeaky, "Shut up! Anveena, you get Saturna out of my son's head right his minute!"

"No, you give me Anasterian's skull so that I can restore the Sunwell. That was the deal!" she slapped his hands away.

"You didn't make a deal with me, you selfish witch! You sent my Bloodknights trekking across Outland on a false mission to torture me and then trick me into doing what you wanted!"

"Did I _ask _you to fall prey to Kil'jaeden's manipulations, destroy your very own Tempest Keep? And then come out here like a pauper and convince all the Dawnblade and Rangers to support you against Halduron and I in an instant, with the sort of charm only a manipulative Olvi'athon could manage?"

"You give me back my girlfriend!"

"No, YOU give me back Anasterian's skull!"

And it went on like this. Liadrin had to sit down. "Are you kidding me…"

The Nexites walked out into the open, all semblance of whatever secret plot they had ready meant nothing now. Halduron spooked at seeing so many Bloodknights emerge from the red shadows. Kalec didn't look surprised at all. Dragons rarely were. As soon as Kael'thas realized what was going on, he released Anveena and Kalec put a possessive arm around the woman's waist, daring him.

Anveena extended a gentle hand, and waited. "You have used the skull of your father to threaten me. But you have also been holding your people hostage with it. Merely because, as you have said, you wanted to put yourself first. Prince Kael'thas Olvi'athon Sunstrider. Why it took you so very long to notice that your beloved's soul was entwined with that of your son, and what magic could have possibly managed it is beyond me. I made it so obvious on purpose. I expected you to question Liadrin so harshly months ago, on first meeting Belorim in fact, and then find your way to me. But you failed that test miserably."

Liadrin came to stand nearby too and shut her eyes. "We all failed him then. But, Anveena, why didn't you just tell me that this is what you wanted?"

"Because I could only trust Kael'thas with my name, if he was still the kind of person who would do the right thing with his father's skull. The kind of man you described to me at the beginning, when all I wanted was for Belorim to remain safe with his mother. You see, Kael'thas, I never intended to hurt either of them."

"But you did! You could have brought Saturna back, of course, but you only brought back my son. And then you lumped their souls together like two hatchlings fighting over who will live in the nest. The only way out was for one to overpower the other. No excuses!" he shouted over Anveena's objections. "That is the inevitable result of what you set forth. There is no telling what sort of distress you truly caused my son for seeing his mother's nightmares of rape and torture and his mother's spirit for being restless and reliving it over and over… if either of them can even be saved now!" Kael'thas became upset and took his father's skull in both hands. "I am giving this to you because I would rather have my family back than… all the goddamn Void Reavers, and dark contracts, all the pain…"

Anveena smiled gently. "And because it is the right thing to do."

Kael'thas had to be prevented from striking her. "No! Don't you dare preach at me when you are no better… causing just as much destruction in my life as even Arthas did, don't you see that? I will never thank you for this, I will never apologize for taking so long to fall into your vile machinations. You did not give me a chance to make a good decision, as my friends and followers did, Anveena. You forced my hand. I will never forget how cruel that was of you." He handed over his father's skull. Anveena was sorry to see up close just how corrupted it had become. She frowned at Kael'thas like a pupil who'd muddled up an elementary assignment in magic. A right that she did not have over him. That was how Kael'thas sneered back at her.

"Now, bring back my Saturna."

Anveena picked up Belorim, who'd started coughing and waded down into the golden pool with him. Everyone watched the pale woman walk until she was waist deep, and when she had to swim, whispered gently for Belorim to hang about her neck. Her long hair trailed behind them in wet curls. She swept out one flat palm and moved water to guide them along and tread water with her feet. The Sunwell began to hum. The surface rippled and shone like never before. Kalec, at the brink of it, offered to float the skull of Anasterian along to her because Anveena had left it. The woman shook her head with disappointment, 'No.'

"Right now, this is more important." She announced the room. Then Anveena lifted Belorim up overhead and told him to take a deep breath. She did not. Then, they both sank down beneath the surface. Kael'thas started forward with the concern of a parent and gripped Liadrin's shoulder for support.

After too long, Kael'thas worried aloud, "Do you think… would she—?"

"No, my Prince. Anveena loves your son."

"But not my Starshine."

Pyorin and the rest came forward to support Kael'thas as well. "She was everyone's Starshine."

Light erupted from the Sunwell and the gold water arced. The rich red walls were illuminated with it and for a precious moment the entire place looked and felt like they were at the heart of a conflagration. They could see Anveena conjuring at the bottom of the emptied basin and the way she twisted her features to gaze up at the mess of water and magic above their heads did look savage, witchlike. And what she was raising from the little boy, a black spectre from such a small body was frightening. It was easy to believe all the wicked things Kael'thas had said to Anveena, because clearly she was capable of it. But then again, and this was clear in their faces as each Bloodknight watched their Prince, Kael'thas had done great evil too. But now they were here doing something great…

The Sunwell fell like rain on all of them. Halduron babbled about needing to collect it and went around with his helmet turned upside down to catch the water like a pail. Kalec rubbed the bridge of his nose and swore under his breath.

Kael'thas was amazed. "Did she… destroy the Sunwell?"

"No, Kael'thas. It will coalesce again and be whole, in time." The voice was new. Anveena when she was smiling. Bright and very pleased with herself as she walked up from the well and lifted something in her arms with inhuman strength. Belorim scrambled over the edge and screamed his jubilant hello to his father.

Kael'thas hugged his son and then turned him in a circle. "Bim Bim are you okay, are you hurt at all? Will he be alright!"

Anveena nodded a sage assent. "As for this part of Belorim's soul, I have done all that I can for her."

Saturna Whiteblade, as translucent as a ghost, but breathing, lay limp in Anveena's arms. Kael'thas, awestruck, came and gently took her.

Barefoot Anveena then casually went and picked up Anasterian's ruined skull. Kalec followed her out of the shrine wordlessly. Belorim cheered his goodbye. Kael'thas could only stare.

For perhaps the first time in his life, Halduron found something useful to say to all the emotional Bloodknights.

"I have… a place on the island not to far from here. If Lady Whiteblade… needs to lie down. Or, something."

Later, the Bloodknight Matriarch would not recall what it was exactly that changed her mind about her Prince. Only that when Kael'thas held Saturna like that and walked out of the Magister's Terrace, and all the Dawnblade soldiers knelt… when the Rangers saluted them and Belorim skipped happily ahead of the natural file her Nexites fell into, on either side of Kael'thas… it felt right.

Lady Liadrin would remember wishing in that moment that it could all be so simple, to forget the past and begin again, with Kael'thas as King and Saturna and Belorim his family. With her Bloodknights marching loyally along and the kingdom pristine all around them. Only to realize that it already was.

Sometimes prayers to the Light are just that perfect.

"Kael'thas, this is miraculous! But… after all we've seen in Outland, I have to ask, what are your intentions?"

"I want it to be just the three of us, a family when she wakes up." Kael'thas whispered to Liadrin as they got into the rowboat Haldurn showed them hitched along the white shoreline. The small island with a cottage he promised was a little ways off, on the horizon as promised. "I… I don't know. I need time alone with my family. Please, give me that. Can't you trust me with that at least, after everything?"

Liadrin wasn't sure what to say.

"My Life, for my Prince." The Nexites saluted before Liadrin could even answer. To have seen what it took her a lifetime to realize about love and forgiveness, and the power of the Light, she thought they all looked very grown up. The seven of them proud and smiling against the sunset, that she would also remember for all time.


	34. Three Wishes

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Three Wishes**

"_Mommy…"_

_Saturna felt a tightness in her chest when she tried to answer. The air no longer flowed through her but constricted. She breathed in again, tried to expand the space around her beating heart. A heartbeat… a heartbeat… how loud it sounded. She wanted to cry, how precious to hear it again._

"_Mommy?"_

"_Yes, son. Oh, Belorim are you alright? I tried, Mommy tried to protect you from Illidan and everyone else… Baby, my little baby, are you finally safe?"_

"_Mommy, you have to wake up."_

"_I can't… so tired…"_

"_No don't sleep." Belorim began to cry. "I don't want to have nightmares again, I don't wanna be scared for you anymore. I trieded so hard, but I couldn't help you. Please let Daddy help you. He helped me and it wasn't bad. Please Mommy."_

"_Sunshine… will bite you, will hurt you if you get too close." Saturna began to fear the heartbeat. It filled her ears, quickened. And there was another throbbing, more gentle, close to her heart. Then his voice…_

"Starshine. Sweetheart, please wake up, _please_. I could never forgive myself if I lost you twice."

"_Mommy, you have to wake up." Belorim began to cry now._

_Saturna felt the fear again. She opened her mouth, not to breathe but to cry. "No, never again, not with you. Not after how you hurt me…"_

"_No! Mommy, no, don't go!"_

"Saturna? Saturna it's me, Kael'thas. Come on now breathe. I know you can hear me, don't let go, don't give up just yet. Anveena explained that I don't have the magic to bring you back if you don't want it, no one does. Please, my sweetest heart, my Bloodknight. Live, fight and live… Belorim? Son, calm down. Rest. Everything is going to be alright…"

_She sensed that Kael'thas moved away from her, to tend to their son. Cold without him, cold. It had been so long since she felt anything at all. Saturna realized Kael'thas had been keeping her warm…_

"_Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a handsome Prince. When he smiled, the sun rose. And when he was sad, it rained. The most beautiful people in the land came from all over Quel'thalas to see him. His father, the King Anasterian, loved him, so much. And his mother Anthene'alas…" Saturna knew the name of Kael'thas' birth mother. It had been her job to know, to remember._

"…_The King of Lordaeron, a Human man had a son named Arthas. He came as well to pay homage, though so much had changed and fallen apart since then. But once, Saturna remembered how her mother told it, Prince Arthas had come to Silvermoon. Both of them so young, like children. King Terenas bade his young son to shake his contemporary's hand. 'One day you will rule your kingdoms together…'_

_But Prince Arthas was too young to understand. He hugged Kael'thas._

'_Such a tragedy what befell our people Saturna, so sad. Once things looked so perfect. The sun always in the sky, magic thick in our veins, we Elves did not bleed, not even in my grandmother's time, but now…' Saturna remembered her mother lift up the rag then. The inside of her elbow was still bleeding._

"_No, mom, don't think of that." Their house, once a mansion, was in ruins all around. Her father gone to search for their cousin, a city guard lost in the Scourge retreat, the fighting._

"_Oh, sweetheart, I can't bear to tell it again—"_

"_Please, for me? I need for you to tell me one more time, then I'll feel better."_

_Her mother wiped a tear from her eye with the inside of her wrist. There was a scar just above there. It looked bad, infected, but with so many other people sick there was nothing she could do. Saturna wished that she'd been trained to heal people…_

'_Prince Kael'thas Olvi'athan Sunstrider grew into a handsome, talented Prince. Good enough for a princess, perfect you, my daughter. You are my princess. Yes, he went away to Dalaran to see about a friendship with Humans and Arthas. But he came back. He came back for you dear. Because you've been good for all your life. Minding your mother and father, being good to your friends, tending to your lessons, putting up with your cousin…'_

_Together they laughed. Saturna masked her hoarse coughing as best she could, so that her mother wouldn't worry._

'_Because you are my daughter, with a good heart, who never hurt a fly and never asked for this, this destruction, Kael'thas came back and made you his Queen. He gave onto you, my princess, the love that you deserved and fought hard for at Court. But not just there, what does that matter any more now, with King Anasterian and everyone else dead and gone… The Prince came back because you are just an innocent. You deserved better than cruelty and Human selfishness. Rape, and murder, and the burning of land, a Plague meant even to torture the dead, make them Undead. Kael'thas came back for you, sweetie, and made everything right again.'_

_Saturna didn't want to finish the old bedtime story, what if it was her mother's last? _

"…_and then they lived happily ever after."_

_Her mother nodded._

"_Mom, you changed the end, for me. Thank you."_

"…_No, that is the way it always was. What your father and I wanted for you. You are a good girl. And maybe your chance to be a Lady of the Court isn't over yet. Things will be fixed again, won't they. Back exactly as they once were. You'll wake up and find out that this was all a dream. Your handsome Prince will kiss you awake, just like in the fairy tales."_

_Saturna remembered that she blushed. For someone as amazing as Kael'thas, a boy—no, he was a man now—to kiss her…it made her very shy._

"_Mom… maybe if I wake up, and you too, and the world isn't perfect again…Maybe that won't even matter, because we'll fix it. I would fight to make it right again. I don't think any of us should wait around and despair."_

"_Don't be a warrior dear…that's so brutish. The hard way to go about saving and fixing things. Just be loving, and study your magic. Your father and I will see to the rest, whether it is a Prince or no, we'll have you marry well. You'll be taken care of. Don't worry about the future."_

_But her mother had been wrong. Loving another person, that was the greater challenge. _

_Then her father came back with her cousin, shouting that Kael'thas had returned. Saturna's mother gave her a knowing wink and they helped each other up out of the ruins of the old house to hear this great speech. Her mother tried not to laugh as Saturna slipped on her pink tabard and got the banner she'd painted for the other Fangirl Scouts…_

"_Mommy, not towards the Light. Go the other way…"_

"_It isn't what they said it would be. No, Bim, it's too hard."_

"_Daddy can be scary, but mostly he's good. I promise."_

"_Is he? Sweetheart… are you sure?"_

_Belorim seemed to smile in her mind, the way he always did. "We grew up."_

Kael'thas leaned over Saturna on the bed. Belorim was alright, he had been dreaming, that was all, talking in his sleep. His mother seemed to struggle though.

Saturna was blue like rain water. She was little more than a gentle aura, a ghost. The small spark of Light magic in her soul manifested, incarnated. She felt soft in his hands, against his skin. Rapture to look upon, to have again.

Somehow, Kael'thas felt he knew what the matter was. "Let me… love you."

_No…_

He hugged her sleeping form. "Let me hold you, be with you…"

_I couldn't bear for you to hurt me again…_

"Let me kiss you." And he did.

Saturna opened her eyes at last. There was that handsome smile again. The first thing he said to Saturna was,

"This would be the second time that my being inside of you has saved your life." And then he stole another kiss, with more tongue.

It really wasn't the sort of happy ending her mother had been talking about, but Kael'thas wasn't that sort of handsome Prince either. Saturna hugged him and tried not to cry, tried not to like it too much.

…

"Kael'thas, stop."

Belorim snored a little while he slept in a bed far across the room. But Kael'thas was wide awake though. He didn't stop kissing her.

"You're back now, that's all that matters. Saturna, oh sweetheart… thank you for coming back, oh thank you. I love you." He kissed her and hugged her again. "I'm so sorry that I didn't see before. I feel so awful. But I'm not going to let you down again, I promise."

"But Kael'thas… We can't—"

"I need to have you. Please,"

"This isn't a dream, this isn't a hallucination—"

"You think I don't know that? You are the love of my life, and I'm never going to let you go. Not again. And besides, he's asleep—"

Saturna recoiled then disappeared. Kael'thas sat up immediately, looked around. "Oh no, please don't tell me…"

"This is real life, Kael'thas. My life." Her voice came from near the door.

"How in the world are you… doing that?" The door seemed to open by itself. She was leaving.

Kael'thas ran outside the cottage and called for her. Pyorin, Sunthraze, and Fennore were waiting right on the doorstep alert and ready for a fight. Liadrin, Daphne and Tempest were a ways off, standing together on the dark coastline. Kael'thas could barely see them.

"You let her just walk past you?" he accused the men.

"Who?"

"Saturna! She's… disappeared somehow. I will _kill_ that Anveena, I swear to all the gods—"

"You'll do no such thing!" Now Saturna the ghost was down the hill somewhere.

"Sweetheart, this isn't funny."

"I'm not coming back until you promise to be reasonable."

He got angry. "I was so reasonable—"

"I can't think with you seducing me like that, it isn't fair, like the last time. And that's the first thing you do with me, after being through so much and gone for so long!"

The Bloodknights all gave Kael'thas a look.

"It's not about that…" but clearly that was a large part of it. "Starshine, love, please be reasonable." He jogged down the hill and out of sight. That is where Saturna's voice seemed to lead him.

He saw her then. At first Kael'thas thought it was a trick of his eyes but the spirit woman recoalesced from the air, countless points of blue magic coming together, like an arcane torrent spell happening in reverse…

She sat at the edge of the field, against the golden shield wall that surrounded Sunwell Isle. Though that was hard to make out in the dark. When he approached, she warned him to stay a few feet out.

"You're… naked." He smiled and suddenly realized why Saturna was being so elusive. When was the last time he felt so giddy and girl-crazy, at thirteen? Then Ruthsalia came to mind and Kael'thas instantly tried to banish the idea. "You just make me crazy, the way I feel about you… and I am so happy, overjoyed that you're back. This is miraculous. Of course the first thing I want to do is make love to you—"

"How do you even know that we can?"

_We'd better damn well be able to._ Kael'thas cursed Anveena as a response, on impulse.

"I didn't know that I could disappear like that… or that I would lose my nightclothes because of it." Saturna hugged her shoulders. "Could you turn around, or something…"

He took off his tiered black cape and handed it to her. Saturna gave Kael'thas a look that made him feel like he was going to have to turn around anyway. That made it worse, of course because then he was forced to imagine that she looked… exactly like the painting.

"Great, now I can't think."

"Good. I want you to be at a disadvantage. Kael'thas, you've got a lot of explaining to do. I can't believe you ran around with all those other women, and in front of our son—"

"Oh no." he raised a hand for her to stop then crossed his arms. "We aren't having this argument, not when I was technically single, lonely as _hell_—"

"No, just horny."

Kael'thas was shamed by her accusation but stood his ground. "Of course I was. I am a mortal man with needs… and you saw fit not to tell me that you were still around, because of the mark Illidan put on your body—"

"Don't say his name to me again."

Kael'thas took a breath instead. "Saturna. What I did, I did because it was too painful being in love with a ghost, a mere memory of you. I was still living—am still alive—and I needed to be with someone else. To live my life, or else go insane… and what kind of father could I be to Belorim if I wasn't capable of being sensible, if I was driving myself crazy with grief?"

"I'm so angry with Tempest and Sunthraze for trying to set you up on all those dates—"

Kael'thas flinched. "Let's leave Tempest out of this! I mean… Well, I'm not going to condemn you for trying to drag our son off to the afterlife, without my permission. You were a vengeful, angry ghost, I get that. I forgive that. Especially when I've done so much worse over the years."

"But this is our son we're talking about, Kael'thas. As much as I want to believe you… You couldn't possibly."

Kael'thas felt silly with his back to her so he turned around, regardless of her feelings. He was disappointed that Saturna had wrapped the cape around herself much like a towel, not the fun way, like in the picture. But it still looked like it was a chilly night…

"Eyes up here, Prince of Quel'thalas."

Kael'thas cleared his throat. "Look, I do forgive you. After what I saw of Belorim's nightmares… I understand. I feel horrible about what Illidan did to you. I'm even more furious at myself for allowing it to happen."

Saturna bowed her head, and hair a scant shade paler than her ethereal blue slipped into her face, the way it always did. "And I feel horrible for ever letting myself become that angry or obsessed over you, to burden our son with my pain."

Kael'thas stayed on track. "… But you don't want me back, is that it, Saturna? You know, just because I chose to live my life, to move on and be happy if you couldn't doesn't make me a jerk, it doesn't make me a cheater. It makes me a normal, decent person."

Saturna made a fist of grass, plucked it with a snapping noise and said nothing.

"You can be my fangirl all you want to. But you can't be psycho."

Saturna kept staring at the ground. She ripped up another handful of grass. Kael'thas refused to be intimidated.

"And if you ever put our son in danger again, you _will_ hear from me about it."

She wouldn't look at him. She gnawed a fingernail now, looking a bit savage. Kael'thas shook his head in disappointment. "So you're not going to talk to me, not at all? You're just going to be angry with me for all eternity? You're not even going to try?"

She folded her arms angrily and turned away.

"Alright then." He straightened. "Maybe when we first met at the Black Temple, I was desperate, Saturna, but not anymore. This really hurts, but you have a right to the kind of life you want, and I'm not going to beg. Over the last three years, especially after your other friends showed up at Tempest Keep, I've been growing and changing. I worked very hard to let go of my anger. When it was finally presented to me, I chose not to join the Burning Legion. I chose to come home and take care of you and our son, like you always wanted. But this time I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for myself. Because I want the right things for my son, and his future. And…if that means I have to get my act together, then fine. I'm willing to do that. And if you want to go your own way, then that's alright too. I hope you don't think I brought you back so that you could be my slave or some kind of obligated lover. I don't need that from you or anyone else. I wanted to bring you back because you are a good person and you deserve to live. If not for my actions then you would have never died in the first place. I will regret that for the rest of my life. But I refuse to let it consume me."

Still she said nothing

Kael'thas opened his hands as if to say something more but there really wasn't anything else to say. "Fine." His voice faltered at first but he was confident at the end, sure that he was in the right, for once. "I'll go, if that is what you want. You're free of me at last, congratulations…"

"Okay, I won't obsess over you anymore."

He stopped and waited.

"And I won't hurt our son, I promise. It was wrong of me to do, I was just so angry with you… but not anymore. Kael'thas I'm so sorry."

"So then we're—"

"Not so fast, I have conditions for you too. Yes, you had a right to move on and love again. And I'll accept that while I was practically out of the picture it was none of my business. But if we're going to do this… I don't want to go through the pain of watching you date other women again. I love you and I want you. And I'm the mother of your son. We've been down that road before… No starting over, Kael'thas. You have to marry me."

He strode over, a hand covered his mouth while he looked pensive, a little reluctant. Saturna was unhappy to see it, but knelt in the grass and waited helplessly for Kael'thas to make up his mind. Then he got close enough for her to see that he was actually smiling at her.

"You vixen you. Offering me an ultimatum? All of Saturna or none of her, is that it?"

"Well, I don't care, if that's what it takes—"

"Done."

He sat cross-legged in front of her, leaned a chin in palm and gazed at his now fiancée admirably. "What did you think, that I would say no?"

Saturna blushed. She had. Because he had said no before… but Kael'thas was different now. He was even respecting her space, though it was easy to tell that he didn't want to just sit there and look at her. She recognized the old look. Kael'thas was in love with her, madly… but he wasn't going to set the island on fire over it. He had her, he must have known it… but she had him too. He was behaving for her.

"Now sexy… what is your second wish?"

Saturna almost forgot to answer. "Oh um… secondly—why are you so distracting?"

"Because you know that as soon as we get married I am going to bend you over and—"

"Ahem. I'm not going to be a third wheel anymore… to you know who."

Kael'thas stopped smiling.

"And after what Illidan did to me… I considered him your enemy years ago, and he is still my enemy now. I won't stand for anything less."

"One dead Demon Lord coming up." Kael'thas said in an even tone. "I don't know how I am going to do it, but I will kill Illidan for you. And for myself. To avenge your death and protect our family. The only question is… do you want his head on a golden platter? Or a silver one?"

Saturna couldn't believe he said it. And Kael'thas meant it too. He leaned back on the heels of his hands and yawned.

"You can be so coldhearted—"

"You know you like it. Alright what's your third demand—er, wish. Not that I think you're demanding. This is a little fun actually. I wonder what I'll get for fulfilling your every desire… or maybe you'll owe me something for each time you broke your oath in the last few minutes and went against your Prince?"

Saturna gasped.

"Yes, let's turn your Bloodknight oath into something dirty… that could be a fun game, don't you think? Very good on a honeymoon between a fangirl and her Prince. Yeah, I'm looking at you. Dead at you, Starshine. Now, hurry up and finish playing with me."

She blushed at how naughty he was being with her. It was almost too much. "One… last thing," she managed without falling apart. "When we first spoke about being together… I explained how I couldn't be with someone who would put our lives in danger. And later I made sure you understood that I didn't want our son raised in Tempest Keep. Kael'thas… I don't want to make it sound like an ultimatum but really it is. We can't… I won't compromise one set of beliefs for another, or pretend like it doesn't hurt to see you give up the bright future you deserve. If you want to be with me… you have to return to Silvermoon." She covered her face, unwilling to see his disappointment. "No exceptions."

The grass rustled as he moved. "Here, come lay next to me."

"Oh, Kael'thas don't. No, I can't endure any more of your flirting if we can't be together after everything."

"Will you stop arguing with me? Come on, indulge me a bit. Here, fangirl, fangirl…"

"I'm not some puppy."

But when she lay next to him in the grass, Kael'thas gave her a pat on the head. "Now, turn around."

"The guys are right up the hill—"

"We could spoon, yes… but that's not what I'm trying to do to you. Look out there, through the barrier."

The golden magical shield lent a dreamy glow to the red and white turrets of Silvermoon City against what was fast becoming the dawn. The Sunfury Spire was most apparent at this vantage point. Delicate towers and balustrades floated over each other in a breathtaking stretch of the imagination, so beautiful… but it was not a dream. It was the real majesty of Quel'thalas, right before their eyes.

Kael'thas kissed her neck. "Do I get extra points for making your dreams come true, before you could even ask?"

"Oh, Kael'thas…"

"Oh Kael'thas is right." He wrapped arms around her hips and pressed against her. It felt good. Saturna allowed herself to enjoy the feel of him again, so passionate and dirty… but breathtaking.

"It's going to be hard," he teased her, "but worth it. We have another fight ahead of us, together, but we are going to punish Illidan and get Silvermoon back. Do you want to do it with me?"

Saturna fought him only a little.

"Yes, I'm seducing you. No it isn't fair. But I've never been very good at behaving myself. Especially around you, my Queen." He smiled against her neck and slipped a hand up under the fabric, along her thighs, between them…

Saturna whimpered prettily.

"That's what I thought. I'll thank Anveena for that, at least. Mmm… now are you still going to object to having me between your legs? Mind you, this is the magical wang we're talking about, that made the blind to see, or maybe if you prefer, the lips that brought you back from the dead. Or, I can always… keep doing this. Since you enjoy it so much..."

"DADDY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MOMMY?!"

Kael'thas nearly cried. Saturna scrambled to her feet and smoothed down the makeshift black cape-skirt. She ran and met Belorim halfway, swooped him up when he tripped, giggled and rolled down the hill. Sunthraze, Pyorin, and Fennore came right on his heels, all of them with smug looks on their faces.

"Bim Bim! My sweet little baby, how I missed you!" she kissed him all over his face, squeezed him tight.

Next were her Bloodknights. "Mommy!" Sunthraze hugged Saturna and picked her up off her feet. Pyorin and Fennore embraced her next, thanked the Sun and the gods and, Anveena and everything for delivering her safely.

"My boys, my other babies…" Saturna's muffled laughter rose up from their fierce hugs. Liadrin heard and came running with Tempest and Daphne.

"Saturna!" Daphne cried.

Tempest ran in and picked up their old friend, screamed wildly. "Don't you ever, _ever_ get drunk and go on a mission across Outland to get into Kael'thas' pants ever again, do you hear me?! Daphne and I were just joking that time!"

Liadrin went to nab Tempest by her long ear but she ducked. Saturna came in with an eager hug that finally quelled the Bloodknight Matriarch's vengeful impulses.

"My sweetheart… you're all in one piece." A glance over Saturna's head at Kael'thas. "Thank you for saving all my Bloodknights. We nearly gave up on our mission, and on ourselves."

Everyone spoke excitedly at once while Kael'thas lingered nearby in what was left of the forest shadows.

Pyroin agreed. "Thank you, Kael'thas. For bringing back our Commander."

Kael'thas turned back to the sunrise and Saturna joined him. "Not just your Commander anymore… my wife, my Queen, the mother of my son, my everything."

Sunthraze perked up. "Your Queen? Wait, so does that mean… Don't joke with us now."

Saturna bit her lip. She put every effort into not going quite as far as she wanted to. Kael'thas smiled and motioned for everyone to take huge steps back. Then he picked up Belorim and asked his son to cover his ears. The others barely got a chance to do the same…

"Alright, Saturna, but I'm going to remind you that you have me all to yourself finally, so it's got to be the last one. Make it good."

"SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

And now it also had a sort of banshee quality that penetrated the bones. Lovely.

_That afternoon…_

Lady Liadrin married them. It was quiet and simple, by the beach. Kael'thas couldn't stop smiling which was especially rare for him. Saturna looked oddly serious the entire time, more devoted to this moment than any other task she'd done for her Prince. With the sun at its summit and nothing but blue ocean all around them, Liadrin smiled with tear-stained cheeks and said the final prayer:

"Forever and ever, come Light or storm, let love rest upon their shoulders, grow within their hearts, put laurels on these royal heads…"and she smiled especially at Belorim then, who was still hugging his mother's leg. "I won't… ask for a blessing. I think that through knowing you Kael'thas, Saturna, and Belorim, we're already very blessed." Liadrin's voice broke at the end and she couldn't speak anymore.

"An ulcer really isn't a blessing, Lady Liadrin."

Daphne and Tempest glared at Sunthraze. Saturna looked ready to haunt _him_ for the rest of his life. Pyorin chewed a thumbnail and shrugged his big shoulders, trying not to laugh. Fennore and Mavia hugged and gave giddy smiles unbefitting a warlock and demon pet.

Kael'thas kissed Saturna happily, and it was hard not to cheer. That was their music.

Pyorin took Sunthraze aside afterward. "They're like bridesmaids, aren't they?"

"Huh? Oh gods… your starting to look like you did when that Olvi'athon thing first came up. Whatever it is, Pyorin, I want no part of it!"

"No, man, just… hear me out, okay? Weddings are a great place to meet women. They're all emotional, thinking about babies, the whole nine. It'd be so easy for us to swoop in and, you know…"

A glare. "Well there's a downside to that too, Pyorin. Do you really want to start something with either Daphne or Tempest when they have those things in mind? A commitment right out of the gates? Come on, meathead, forget about it."

Pyorin smiled proudly. "Yeah… I want that. But not with Tempest!" he shoved Sunthraze. "You really haven't got any faith in me at all have you? I am capable of learning from my mistakes, though I'll admit to being slow on the uptake at times."

Sunthraze shuffled from one foot to the other, peered over tall Pyorin's shoulder. "Do you mean… I'm serious now, don't go one way and then back in the other direction. You want the redhead? Or the blonde?"

"No, that's what I'm asking you. Shortstuff." Pyorin clapped him on the back. "I know you still love her. Everyone does. If you're that crazy for Tempest after all she's done to you, then I advise you to put out that sort of fire, and fast. Don't let her get away. I'm not letting Daphne get away. I learned my lesson."

But they stood there staring at the women who giggled with Saturna, truly intimidated for a long time.

Pyorin cleared his throat. "We're Bloodknights, so we can do this right? Our lives for our Prince and all that."

Sunthraze winced. "My Life for My Prince, my ass. My tight, unbroken ass. I could just _kill_ Kael'thas for finishing this out so well. Now we have to go and get our women too, damn him."

Pyorin laughed heartily. "Yeah, and he took Saturna finally. To be honest, I'm so glad that she got what she wanted in Kael'thas."

"Would you have married her too? I mean… done right by her if Kael'thas had screwed up again somehow."

"I'd do anything for that woman. Any of the women in our Blood Nexus, really. Glad that I won't have to though."

"Same." Sunthraze cracked his knuckles. "Think he'll be able to take good care of her?"

"He will. Kael'thas is a good man. Well, now anyways."

"I still can't believe that she's back."

"You know, we don't have to go and get the girls right now. Let's hang out with Saturna for a bit."

Liadrin pretended not to hear when Tempest said to Daphne, "Come on, Virgin. We're Bloodknights. If we can save a Prince, we can totally talk to two guys."

"One guy!" Daphne snapped.

"Uh, right. Just one this time. Well, go on. I'm not going first. They've been so outstaged by Kael'thas so bad today, Pyorin and Sunthraze are probably freaking out thinking that they have to marry us or something."

Daphne smiled prettily. "You wouldn't want to spend the rest of your life with someone as charming and devoted as Sunthraze the Sly?"

The flash of jealousy across Tempest's face was all the confirmation Daphne needed and she told her best friend that.

Down along the beach, Kael'thas bounced Belroim up and down while his mother wriggled her translucent blue toes in the sand. She wore a simple white dress that the breeze liked to play with. Then, Saturna got a strange smile and took one step out into the water, then another. To feel water again, for the first time…

"You can walk on it now, you know." Kael'thas said, and she tried it. Another squeal. Kael'thas whispered to his son. "We're going to need earplugs, I can tell."

"Oh shush!"

Liadrin walked down and joined them in the surf. "How does it feel, Kael'thas, to finally have everything that you want? And all you had to do was embrace the ones that you love."

"He hasn't got everything." Saturna replied, somber.

Kael'thas did not want to say Illidan's name again but he nodded at his perceptive wife. "And then I have to convince the people across that water that I'm worthy to rule. There is also the Horde and the Alliance to convince… not to start a war with Quel'thalas the moment I sit on my throne again. We couldn't defend against all of that, the way we are now."

Belorim laughed loudly over their conversation.

Liadrin frowned. "The two of you are up to something. Another mission, Saturna?"

"No." and she went to hug her husband and son. "This is just our life together. It's going to be a fight. I've accepted that."

Kael'thas turned and kissed his wife's forehead. "I'm doing this for her and Belorim and everyone else, Liadrin. Will you help us?"

It seemed too large a prospect now. Hadn't they just finished some fantastic adventure? Gone further than any of them could have ever dreamed…

Just to see Kael'thas smile.

Liadrin crossed her arms. "You're far too charming for your own good. There's no logical reason to be so committed to you, you know. I've come to that conclusion Kael'thas. You're a normal person just like everyone else. But still… we follow, we salute you, we can't sleep well if you're not happy. We're all fangirls in a way, aren't we Saturna?"

Saturna stroked her son's hair with a hand just as wispy in the wind. The air passed through her, but Anveena's magic held, kept the resurrected Bloodknight a trick of hope.

Kael'thas looked into her eyes with longing. "Those people up on the grass, arguing?"

"Yes, my Prince." Liadrin readied for her first order.

"Keep them as far away from me as possible tonight… I love you Saturna. I never stopped."

Belorim watched his parents kiss again and was finally able to think, all by himself this time, that it was gross. He hopped down and ran to join Liadrin in herding the Bloodknights.

"Mmm… Kael'thas? You're burning that painting."

"The porn-trait? No, I'll just put it in storage or something."

"It's me or the painting. And I'd like to think that's a lot easier than deciding between me or Kil'jaeden."

"Damn…Yes, my Queen."

They knelt in the waves. It felt so good to become lost in the feel of each other, to indulge in all life is and should ever be.

THE END


	35. Epilogue

Son of Kael'thas

**Son of Kael'thas**

**Epilogue:**

Lady Vashj shut her whorling yellow eyes tight before coming out onto the roof to meet her master. She swallowed the bile that crept up her throat, made scaly green fists of her sharpened claws.

"I hate that man. Ssscyth'lerin!"

Her military second, Wave Commander Scyth'lerin slithered up alongside Vashj in the shadows. Two other male Naga consorts flashed their gold eyes in the dark and stretched jealous snarls. Their fat gold collars reflected the fiendish look.

"Yesss, my Queen?"

"I want you to speak to Illidan this time."

"Oh no! My Queen… but Kael'thas has run away and everyone knowsss it. The Demon Lord will eat me alive!"

"Coward!" Vashj raised an arm to slap her general but stopped. Her consorts didn't look like they had the courage either and beating absolutely everyone who'd accompanied her this far from Zangarmarsh would only make things worse. Terrified men couldn't protect their Queen. "I worked…" a vile sucking sound through her gills as she took a frustrated breath, "ssso very hard to leave the Black Temple. And this useless mad-man… Oh! Illidan, my Lord, my Sssavior! We heard the terrible news and came right away, how horrible for you to have lossst your dear brother, Kael'thas."

Illidan stood at the end of the terrace. He was taller than most of the jagged stones along the edge that curled up to the fel green night sky like a jungle of elekk tusks. A breeze came and played with his tattered demon wings, making them sway. Scyth'lerin blinked beside Lady Vashj and she hugged her arms. No, it was not a wind, but Illidan's latent power… neither of them had felt it. The full Demon Lord fairly pulsed with it. The strength was seeping from him.

"The last time we spoke of it, Kael'thas was not my brother, Vashj. You fully believed that I was mad. Also, I summoned you here. Do not pretend to care… your black, withered heart has always been sickeningly false." Illidan bowed his head. "Unlike Kael'thas, who could always play at compassion so well…"

Vashj whispered to Scyth'lerin, "Tell him. Now."

"The way he gazesss upon me, without even facing me…" the Naga man trembled.

"Vashj!"

She snatched Scyth'lerin's arm without expecting to.

"Why did your plan not work?"

"Plan?" a threatening growl from Illidan, "Oh yesss, the collar. Well, my Lord, I put it on him. The ressst was up to you—"

"I cannot sense Kael'thas any longer! Where can he have gone to that our Soul Link _and_ the collar are completely distorted? Not to that demonic rune again in Tempest Keep; I checked there first. And the skull of his father, King Anasterian is missing from that room. And not to Kil'jaeden… Kael'thas could never…"

"Actually, my Lord," and Vashj sounded a bit bored with the idea, "Both you and I have excessive evidence to the contrary…"

"It was Faltheriel Darkweaver the entire time!" Illidan turned around then in a flare of black wings that snapped against rushing air. He clawed talons in the night sky and then gave into distress and fell on his knees. "Kil'jaeden never contacted Kael'thas. Ever. For three years, and perhaps even before then, it was that disgusting, insolent pervert who first gave Kael'thas the Void Reaver blueprints. And then, once Kael'thas had a taste of Burning Legion power, Faltheriel encouraged him still more through arcane and secret means… my spies discovered the truth before long, of course, and I thought that I could use that against him. Where is Faltheriel now? There was no body in the chamber I checked beneath Tempest Keep, though there was evidence of Bloodknights fighting. Dead or disappeared again into obscurity, we can only hope."

Vashj's upper lip flickered. She showed sharp teeth and slithered forward. "You… what? Did you… assist that foolish ex-Sunfury, ex-Scryer Faltheriel Darkweaver in what wasss obviously his latest plot to romance his Prince?!"

"A just punishment for a man who thought he could betray _me_. I wanted Kael'thas to be a victim of his own vile machinations."

Vashj shouted at Illidan. Scyth'lerin and her consorts sank back. "You… WHAT! Is that the true reassson why Kael'thas has gone? Fleeing a… We are in this triad together, ruling Outland, and you sssuccumbed to something so low and childish? Why did you not sssimply yank the collar I placed around his neck? Why did you not mind any of the instructions I gave you, about its use, the risssks of giving Kael'thas too much of a lead for so long… all because of your guilty conscience, over the last three years? WHY DID YOU NOT CONSULT ME!"

Illidan clawed the ground. "It should have worked, even with his insufferable Bloodknights at his side… Faltheriel is a Legion Ranger now, and incredibly powerful. The trap he'd set beneath Tempest Keep was enough to kill all of them, and leave Kael'thas with no other recourse but to summon me… if he does not _feel_ it, Lady Vashj, then it is not true brotherhood. I can't make him forgive me, love me. I've learned this."

"Insolence! What have you come to, Illidan Stormrage, Lord of Outland? You cower before your warlock, and you are supposed to be beyond such… Do you know where Kael'thas has gone? To the Shatar, certainly! With their power over the Light and all our precious tactical secrets!"

"He can't, and I have men there, I would know…"

"… then to Azeroth!" she rubbed her palms together nervously, weaving long red-painted claws together and apart again and again, "… back to the Alliance!"

"They would never take him," Illidan mourned pathetically.

"Then to the Horde! No? Well then it is someone he can still trust… did you think you left him no one at all, Illidan? That Kael'thas would stay by your side, abandon all of his old contacts simply because you invited him here to Outland? Gave him power? Have you learned nothing about this man! Kael'thasss will seek out strength from every place he can find, like a fiend!"

"Like an addict!" Scyth'lerin chimed in and this time, Vashj really did hit him for interrupting.

"LIKE A BLOODMAGE! That is what he isss, the most powerful mage in existence. And he is loossse! And free of your collar, and angry at both of us…" she began to panic and slithered in precarious circles. "Illidan, you fool! You have damned the three of us. Kael'thas has found a sssupporter back in Azeroth. He has his armies in Silvermoon and some one else powerful… if they don't trust him then they hate you enough to help Kael'thasss come after usss, to be sure. It mussst be that Jaina Proudmoore!"

"… for your turning the elves against the Human Alliance all that long ago? No, not Lady Proudmoore. And she's convinced that she's too good for our pencil-necked friend."

"Then it is Tyrande."

Illidan stabbed up stone from the ground suddenly and pitched it at Vashj. She flared her scaly headdress and hissed. "It is sssomeone! It is sssomething! Kael'thas is not dead, but he _is_ gone, lossst, free! And he's surely turned against us. This is your fault, Illidan!"

"Where are you going!"

Vashj was so terrified that she forgot make her clever excuse. Scyth'lerin rubbed his reddened jaw and managed quickly, "To… prepare the Queen's armies in the Underbog, of course. For the inevitable attack."

Illidan was on his hands and knees again, muttering. "Even you, my most loyal, twin of my ambition, abandon me in the end, Vashj… like Tyrande… and Malfurion… now Kael'thas…"

Lady Vashj and her men slipped into the shadows of the Black Temple once more, and descended stairs from the roof while Illidan wailed aloud, in so many demonic voices. It sounded like the entire place was possessed, or truly was consumed by something terrible after the Draenei had been driven out years ago by the Fel Orcs who were dominated by Illidan, and now the dwindling Illidari, at last…"

Scyth'lerin asked, "What is our strategy, my Queen? How many men shall I put at the gates to the Underbog?"

"None. We are leaving Outland, all thisss is finished." As they rushed through the long hallways of the temple and down, ever down… They noticed that the demon soldiers Illidan had were fewer now and more desperate looking than when Mavia was sent away some months ago…

"But our work for the Queen Azshara?!"

"Illidan is damned. We'll have made more in profitsss from our pumping operations and other industries if we leave now for the Maelstrom again, than if we remain under Illidan's command and sssuffer the wrath of Kael'thas Olvi'athon Sunstrider."

Scyth'lerin held the metal grate back for Vashj when they came to the flooded sewer system the Naga used to travel from one Illidari base to another.

"And especially for us… the collar, the death of Saturna Whiteblade, all of it, was your idea."

Vashj stood wringing her hands while her men watched. She looked up and around them at the ruined Black Temple, then shivered at the moaning of the full Demon Lord who drowned in his own debilitating madness. At first Illidan had seemed so powerful after the transformation, but now…

"We will not be here when Kael'thas and Illidan fight, for sssurely they will. It will be such a reckoning… a battle to end all other battles we have ever seen in the Maelstrom, or over the waves, and above even the earth…" she gave Scyth'lerin a desperate look. "Retreat."

"The way of the Wave Command is to eat or be eaten."

She grabbed the collar of his mail armor. "Have we time to gorge ourselves before the end comes? We are dead. The Naga are finished in this story of woe and revenge." She breathed rapidly. "I know of at least one person who would aid Kael'thas… Illidan is wrong about her. Long has she had a bone to pick with me… too long. I have not escaped her wrath or the wrath of her people for thousands of years for it all to come to this! Now, away!"

Lady Vashj slithered into the grimy slit until she was waist deep in muddy water then extended her arms overhead to dive. Scaly headdress flattened and she was smooth and serpentine again, writhing beneath the murk like a fish. Her two consorts followed, crashing into it in their masculine version the way crocodiles dive and then thrash about.

Scyth'lerin was last. "Farewell, Illidan." The howling soared then and the Wave Commander waited respectfully for it to ebb. "Perhapsss my Queen does not honor you… but you were once great, once beloved. And now that your mind betrays you, sssuch a tragedy. One brother, and now another…" then he let his hackles rise. "But if it is revenge for all your evil deedsss come to you at last… it is not the fault of the Naga that you could not prevent it from coming to your doorstep."

The triumvirate in Outland ended when Scyth'lerin at last withdrew into the dark water. The witch-woman had gone back beneath the waves, the elves to a place that even Illidan dreaded to imagine, and at last the Betrayer himself…

Illidan went deep into his mind, to a place where he had never raped Saturna Whiteblade, or murdered his brother, ruined countless other innocents in Outland. A realm where he did not deserve to die for his crimes, but instead, could indulge in power and vileness as he had always… In this fit of madness Illidan delved still deeper, into the Soul Link. Illidan did not know how long he dwelt there calling to his lost brother with no answer. Years, brooding alone on his throne after Lady Vashj departed? Or had it only been days?

_Kael'thas? Do not do this thing to me, please. I always believed, dreamed of you…_

_Then it is time to wake up, you sonofabitch._

The End

Next in the series is MLFMP3: Return of Kael'thas. Thanks for reading!


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